Lee County sheriff’s deputy on leave for elbowing suspect

A Lee County sheriff’s deputy was caught on camera elbowing a suspect in the face. Lee County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a deputy was placed on administrative leave due to the recorded incident.

Uniformed Lee County sheriff’s deputies detained Bienvenido Roman, 17, near Riverdale High School in east Fort Myers Friday. One of the deputies was caught allegedly using excessive force toward Roman after he was arrested.

“If the person that was arrested was out of line, I understand that,” neighbor Randy Duncan said. “But being a sheriff’s deputy of Lee County, you gotta draw a line, and he went past that.”

FGCU Professor Dr. David Thomas, who has a Ph.D. in forensic psychology, is a senior research fellow with the National Police Foundation. He said there are situations where law enforcement would need to use that type of force, but Thomas said that it is no longer necessary once a suspect is detained.

“What you saw with the elbow… oftentimes when you see that, it’s because they’re angry,” Thomas said. “And he or she needed to get the last shot in.”

Roman’s family told WINK News they did not know about the recorded arrest and did not comment on it either. Roman lives two miles away from where the incident happened.

“Once control has been established and there’s no further resistance, then the ability to use force, or want to use force… you can’t do it. It’s over,” Thomas said.