PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — A Pinellas County corporal was fired on Monday for lying to law enforcement about a corrections sergeant's attack on an inmate, the sheriff's office says.
According to law enforcement, on Nov. 19, 2021, Sergeant Patrick Knight and Corporal Jamason Jessie were assigned to the Department of Detention and Corrections at the Pinellas County Jail located at 14400 49th Street.
The day prior, 41-year-old Terrell Johnson had been arrested by police and booked into the jail.
During Johnson's medical screening, the sheriff's office says he was handcuffed and placed in a single cell after becoming disruptive and uncooperative. While in the cell, authorities say Johnson began kicking the door. That's when the sheriff's office says Sergeant Knight came in and pushed, slapped, punched and grabbed Johnson's hair "without provocation or justification."
Sergeant Knight would provide a written report of the attack that investigators say was filled with inconsistencies. Corporal Jessie would also provide a statement corroborating Knight's report, but investigators say he recanted it hours later and eventually admitted Knight had unlawfully struck Johnson.
Knight would resign days after the attack, according to the sheriff's office, and was arrested the following week.
Now, months later, the sheriff's office says an administrative review board found Corporal Jessie was in violation of his duties by providing the initial false statement, as well as omitting information during the formal investigation.
Sheriff Bob Gualtieri would fire Jessie on Monday.
Knight was charged with one count of battery and official misconduct. Johnson did not suffer any "serious" injuries, the sheriff's office says.
