Broward Sheriff report sheds new light on inmate fight that led to deputies' arrests

Yahoo

3 hours ago

Three Broward Sheriff's detention deputies are facing felony charges after prosecutors say they dragged an inmate off camera, then punched, kicked and Tased her in 2022. But records released by the Sheriff's Office Friday offer a different perspective.
The inmate, Samantha Caputo, 38, was outraged about her arrest on a DUI charge in the early hours of that October morning, according to an Sheriff's Office internal affairs report, repeatedly maintaining that she was wrongfully jailed despite being sober. She was combative throughout her time in BSO custody, culminating in her encounter with Sgt. Zakiyyah Polk and deputies Cleopatra Johnnie and Denia Walker. It was Caputo who first tried to punch Polk, the report states, and a BSO use of force expert who analyzed footage of the fight concluded that the deputies' response was justified.
The three deputies were arrested last week on one count of second-degree aggravated battery. The jail altercation has since escalated into a wider conflict between the Sheriff's Office and the Broward State Attorney's Office. On Friday, Sheriff Gregory Tony accused prosecutors of 'corruption' and bias in their handling of Caputo's case. He reinstated the deputies and said their arrests were a 'miscarriage of justice.'
State Attorney Harold Pryor issued a statement denying Tony's allegations, saying that 'attempts to verbally bully my office or sway public opinion prior to trial will not deter us from seeking justice and striving to do the right thing.'
Three Broward detention deputies face aggravated battery charge in 2022 inmate booking
Broward sheriff reinstates deputies charged in jail fight, says 'public corruption' led to arrests
The series of events began with a traffic stop along Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach just after 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 4, 2022. Caputo's Ford Escape had suddenly stopped in the middle of the road, almost causing a crash, according to Deputy Jose Guzman.
He pulled her over and asked why she had stopped, according to the internal affairs report. Caputo said that her shoe had fallen off, so she slammed the brakes. She also told him that she was sick.
'Can you give me a warning?' Caputo asked him at one point, according to the report. 'I literally just paid my insurance.'
Guzman noted that Caputo had 'glossy red eyes, slurred speech, disorientation, and lethargy,' according to the report. When he asked if she had been drinking, she said she did not drink but had taken prescribed medication. Guzman then had Caputo perform field sobriety tests, where he noted that she lost balance multiple times and did not follow instructions. Then he handcuffed her.
Upset, Caputo repeatedly maintained that she was sober, had passed the sobriety tests, and that Guzman had no right to arrest her.
'It doesn't bother you that it's your job to serve and protect, and you are arresting people that are completely sober?' she asked Guzman at the BAT facility as she waited to take a breathalyzer.
Caputo turned the same criticism onto the woman operating the breathalyzer, who repeatedly said 'okay' in response to her comments. 'No, it's not okay,' Caputo said at one point. 'I don't have money for this, and I am being wrongfully accused.' She frequently cursed at both Guzman and the woman.
'It was beyond a task dealing with the subject during processing at the BAT Facility,' the woman later wrote in a report.
Caputo had not been drinking, it turned out. She blew a 0.00, but was taken to Broward Main Jail anyway after submitting her urine for testing. The urine later tested positive for amphetamines, corresponding with Caputo's prescribed medication for 'dextroamp – amphetamin,' the generic name for Adderall.
Three Broward detention deputies face aggravated battery charge in 2022 inmate booking
Broward sheriff reinstates deputies charged in jail fight, says 'public corruption' led to arrests
A little after 5 a.m. that morning, Caputo entered Broward Main Jail and was taken to the strip search cell where the fight took place. Polk had already been alerted about Caputo, who 'was likely to be a potential problem,' according to the report, and informed the other deputies.
Walker, Johnnie and Polk entered the cell, giving Caputo clothing to change into. Caputo refused to change into a jail-issued bra, Polk told the internal affairs investigator. She then threw her bra at Polk, who caught it, then pushed Caputo back. At that point, Polk said that Caputo 'threw a punch at her.'
The three deputies then rushed forwards and Polk pinned Caputo to the wall, at which point Caputo scratched her and bit her thumb, fracturing her bones, Polk said, according to the report, which also includes pictures of her injuries. Johnnie sprayed Caputo with pepper spray while Polk appeared to kick and punch Caputo in the footage. The fight continued until Polk Tased Caputo.
The Broward Sheriff's Office internal affairs report vastly differs from Caputo's account in the State Attorney's Office warrant. She said in a sworn statement that she 'never returned any form of physical aggression, and did not strike or bite' the deputies, according to the warrant, and that she was 'in fear for her life.'
BSO Sergeant Jeffrey Liotta, a use-of-force expert, reviewed the case and the footage and determined that the deputies' actions were justified, according to the report. His interpretation based on the footage aligned with the deputies' statements. Caputo's level of resistance was 'aggressive resistance,' he said, which authorizes deputies to use tactics like punching and kicking in response. Once Caputo bit Polk, he said, the threat of 'great bodily harm' made her level of resistance rise to potential 'deadly force.'
After the fight, Caputo continued to be uncooperative, according to the report, including with the EMT who checked her injuries. She did not sign an Urgent Medical Care Record due to being 'uncooperative, aggressive, patient non-compliant,' the EMT wrote.
Caputo spent four days in the hospital following her arrest and had to take antibiotics for a skin infection where the Taser prongs had hit her, according to the warrant. Polk also went to the hospital for her thumb, where doctors diagnosed her with a fracture and wrote that she was exposed to 'blood borne pathogens' due to the bite, the report states. Caputo was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer.
Prosecutors later reviewed the footage and dropped the battery charge against Caputo in April of 2024, according to Pryor's statement. They wrote in a memo that 'the Deputy claimed that the Defendant bit her right thumb, but the video does not capture the action.'
By that point, prosecutors had also dropped the DUI charge. A toxicologist had told them that Caputo's demeanor was not that of someone who had taken stimulants and that she would not be able to testify about the test results, according to a memo. The decision perplexed Guzman, who told the internal affairs investigator that, out of 650 DUI arrests, Caputo's was the only one that the State Attorney's Office had not filed.
Guzman recalled talking to Assistant State Attorney Julio Gonzalez, who he said told him the case was dropped because '1) Guzman was not a Drug Recognition Expert at the time of Caputo's arrest, and 2) Caputo was on her period,' the report states. '… Guzman is concerned that the SAO dropped this case and has been left questioning their reasons.'
Caputo's attorney, Phil Johnston, did not return texts or voicemails Friday or Saturday.
Over the course of their careers, all three deputies regularly received positive evaluations about their conduct with inmates, according to personnel files released Friday. None of the deputies had other documented use of force incidents in their files.
Polk received one negative evaluation in 2018, which said she 'needs to work on her interpersonal skills' and 'shows the unwillingness to communicate or be forthwith with supervisors.' She filed a rebuttal to the review, saying it was 'unsubstantiated and baseless' and that the supervisor who wrote it barely interacted with her.
Otherwise, Polk frequently received glowing feedback before and after her promotion to sergeant in 2021. As a mental health sergeant in the North Broward Bureau, she trained other deputies in handling 'inmates in crisis,' according to her file.
Polk 'has embraced her role and has created a culture where staff and inmates expect leadership, effective communication, and quick resolution to incidents and concerns,' her supervisor wrote in 2024.
Johnnie received similarly positive feedback. In a 2024 evaluation, her supervisor wrote that she 'demonstrates strong de-escalation skills, effectively managing tense situations with inmates.'
Walker was also frequently praised over her handling of inmates. In 2024, her supervisor wrote that she has 'good interpersonal communication skills that enables her to de-escalate situations that result in a positive outcome and avoid a use of force.'
Her file mentions a closed 2017 internal affairs investigation, but no report or further information was included in her file.
All three deputies are set to be arraigned in Broward County Court on June 24.