Osceola deputy convicted of battery for punching man handcuffed to hospital bed
An Osceola County deputy sheriff caught on video repeatedly punching a man handcuffed to a hospital bed last year was sentenced to six months probation Wednesday after a jury found him guilty of battery.
Dirio Sinclair, who was hired by the Osceola County Sheriff ’s Office in March 2019, was charged last year after an investigation found he “lost control” during a May 6 confrontation with a man arrested for violating a no-contact order.
The agency said in a statement issued after the guilty verdict that he will be fired.
Body camera video showed Sinclair and the victim, who was taken to an AdventHealth facility after repeatedly hitting his head against the inside of a patrol car, getting into a shouting match when the victim swatted Sinclair’s hand away from his face.
Sinclair then hit the man four times in the face, until another deputy separated the two and escorted Sinclair out of the room while hospital security took control of the situation.
“When I saw the video, it looks like two individuals in crisis, to be honest with
you,” Sheriff Marcos López said at the time, noting that crisis intervention protocols weren’t followed. “... What happened between the two of them, it’s clear on video that this needed investigation.”
Sinclair was suspended without pay while the criminal case moved forward. Following the conviction, which came after a brief trial, the Sheriff’s Office announced in a statement
it has “started the termination process.”
“The Sheriff would like to thank the deputies who thoroughly investigated this case and testified at trial,” the statement said. “He would also like to express his gratitude to the State Attorney’s Office, specifically prosecutor Peter Donnelly for his work on this case. Finally, the Sheriff would like to thank the citizens of Osceola
County who rendered a fair and impartial verdict.”
Sinclair had no disciplinary history before the incident and his job at the Sheriff ’s Office was his first in law enforcement.
Along with his probation, he was ordered to complete an anger management course and 25 hours of
community service.