Broward detention deputy found guilty in attack on inmate during strip search

A Broward jury found a detention deputy guilty of battery for blasting an inmate in the face with a three-second stream of pepper spray after the woman mouthed off during a strip search.

The deputy, Bonika Sands, 46, is a 19-year veteran of the Broward Sheriff ’s Office. The incident took place in September 2019 and involved a female inmate who was accused of stealing from her employer.

Prosecutors told the jury that the woman was being strip searched when she noticed an open door and complained to Sands that she could be seen. When the door remained open,

the woman said “I know I have a good body and you guys are jealous,” according to a defense motion to dismiss the case. In Sands’ own account of the incident, the inmate never made that comment and was sprayed because she made a fist and appeared to be preparing to attack.

Video of the interaction was shown to the jury. It was not accompanied by sound.

Broward County Judge Robert Diaz withheld adjudication, a legal move that will later allow

Sands to truthfully say she was not convicted. Diaz ordered her to to complete

an 8-hour course in anger management. Though prosecutors Justin McCormack and Jessalynn Rubio asked for a year of probation, Diaz declined to order it.

The Sheriff’s Office said Sands remains under suspension without pay, and an Internal Affairs investigation will resume now that her criminal case is resolved. Sheriff Gregory Tony has fired several deputies accused of using excessive force, sometimes even before their criminal cases are resolved.