San Diego deputy sentenced for shove that fractured detainee’s spine
A San Diego County sheriff’s deputy has been sentenced to nearly five years in federal prison for shoving a shackled pretrial detainee into a holding cell wall, causing a spinal fracture, and then lying in a report to cover up what happened, according to prosecutors.
Jeremiah Manuyag Flores, 45, was sentenced Tuesday to 57 months in prison after a jury convicted him in December of deprivation of rights under color of law and falsifying records in a federal investigation. He had been free on bond and was ordered to report to prison by August 18.
Prosecutors said Flores unnecessarily shoved the detainee, identified only by the initials J.P., from behind while his legs were shackled and his hands were chained at his waist.
The force sent J.P. across the holding cell, where he slammed headfirst into the far wall and collapsed to the floor with what was later determined to be a fractured spinal column.
Flores did not provide medical aid or report the use of force to a supervisor, both of which were required under sheriff’s department policy. J.P. remained on the floor of the cell next to a pool of his own blood for more than two hours before another deputy discovered his injuries.
When Flores was later ordered to write an inmate status report about the encounter, he included multiple false statements, including that “no force was used,” according to prosecutors.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Askins argued at sentencing that J.P. had been unable to protect himself and had not resisted.
“There was no escalation here. There was no resistance here,” Askins said. “The defendant didn’t have to use any force at all. All he had to do was to keep walking.”
Before handing down the sentence, U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez said Flores not only used excessive force but then told another deputy that “nothing happened” and repeatedly ignored opportunities to help J.P. over the next two hours.
Referring to a surveillance still showing Flores walking away from the cell and smiling moments after the incident, Lopez said: “I don’t know how many years it’s going to be before I get that photo out of my mind. Your conduct was egregious.”
Flores was terminated by the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office after his convictions and will not be allowed to work as a law enforcement officer at any level of government.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
