August 28, 2020 - 11:51 AM
BONITA SPRINGS, Fla. - A Florida deputy has been suspended after placing an elderly woman who ran a stop sign in handcuffs, officials said this week.
Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno announced during a news conference Wednesday that the deputy had been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation.
Dorothy Friedenreich, 91, told news outlets her arms were badly bruised and cut when she was handcuffed in the driveway of her Bonita Springs home Aug. 17. She ended up going to the emergency room for her injuries.
Friedenreich said she did not realized she had rolled through the stop sign less than a minute from her house, leading the deputy to believe she was trying get away when she did not immediately pull over.
Marceno said the deputy failed to use common sense and compassion. Friedenreich said she felt safer after the sheriff personally apologized to her.
Officials did not name the deputy.
Bonita Springs is located just south of Fort Myers.
News from © The Associated Press, 2020