Manatee deputy resigns after he punched jail inmate in the face, sheriff says
A Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy has resigned from the agency after he was charged with battery for punching an inmate who spat in his eye, according to the sheriff’s office.
John Camarillo, 27, was working in the disciplinary unit of the Manatee County jail on the evening of Feb. 17 when an inmate began hitting and kicking his cell door, according to an internal affairs report. Camarillo reportedly ordered the inmate to stop, but the inmate refused.
According to the sheriff’s office, Camarillo attempted to use pepper spray to subdue the inmate but the inmate scratched Camarillo through the cell’s food hatch before he was able to use it.
Camarillo called for backup on the radio, leading several fellow deputies and supervisors to the area, according to a release. A lieutenant decided that the inmate should be taken out of his cell and placed into a restraint chair.
After a minor struggle, deputies put the inmate in the chair, handcuffing his hands behind the chair and putting shackles around his legs. As deputies surrounded and held the inmate down and Camarillo leaned forward to strap a lap belt around him, the inmate spat in his face, the internal affairs report said.
Camarillo balled his fist as he said, “Oh, (expletive) you!” and punched the inmate in the face, knocking his glasses off his face and hitting him just above his right eye.
On his written report detailing the incident, Camarillo initially claimed that he punched the inmate, “for fear that he would spit on another deputy or me again.”
But the story changed during an interview with Professional Standards investigators. Camarillo told them, “I just saw red ... as soon as he spit in my eye it was just a spontaneously reacted, closed fist to his facial region.”
Camarillo, who began working for the sheriff’s office at the jail in September 2018, claimed remorse but said, “I think anybody that was (to) get spit in their face would have some type of reaction.”
In interviews with internal affairs investigators, the inmate said Camarillo did spray him with the pepper spray.
“He sprayed me for no reason, so I’m gonna spit on him for no reason,” the inmate said.
After the attack, the inmate also told investigators he heard Camarillo threaten to “(expletive) him up some more.”
According to the internal affairs report, 10 officers were in the area at the time of the incident. Speaking with investigators, deputies said they witnessed or heard the inmate spit on Camarillo before he reacted by punching the inmate. One deputy said the inmate was “a known management problem,” who has attempted to fight deputies before.
An internal affairs investigation recommended that Camarillo be charged with simple misdemeanor battery and the case was sent to the State Attorney’s Office.
“Deputy Camarillo’s visceral and emotional reaction to the act by punching a seated and restrained individual in the face with a closed fist was punitive in nature, given the other options available to him,” the internal affairs report concluded. “The circumstances surrounding (the inmate’s) restricted mobility, coupled with the overwhelming presence of other correctional deputies, dictated no need for an escalated response in force by Deputy Camarillo.”
Camarillo resigned on March 2 before the sheriff’s office could terminate his employment. Records show that he was never arrested, however. Instead, he was sent a summons and ordered to appear in court at 8:25 a.m. on March 22.
This story was originally published March 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
