Florida cop seen punching suspect handcuffed to hospital bed in bodycam footage

A Florida police officer is being investigated after bodycam footage captured him punching a suspect who was handcuffed to a hospital bed. 

The shocking video shows Broward County Deputy Jorge Sobrino forcing David O’Connell to lay on the bed before punching him and twisting his arm behind his back.

O’Connell can be heard screaming in pain during the altercation. He later begs a nurse to stay in the room with him and Sobrino. 

‘These f*****g cops are beating my a** bro, please have the door open bro,’ he pleads. ‘You know there’s abusive cops out there. Please just have somebody else in here with me. They keep beating my a** bro.’ 

roward County Deputy Jorge Sobrino is being investigated after bodycam footage captured him punching David O’Connell while he was handcuffed to a hospital bed. The video shows the men yelling at each other before the altercation

Sobrino confronted O’Connell, 26, at a Walmart in Pompano Beach in January on a report of a domestic disturbance. 

He arrested O’Connell on a charge of resisting without violence and took him to Broward Health North to be evaluated for injuries he sustained during the arrest. 

O’Connell can be heard telling Sobrino that he doesn’t want to be at the hospital and would rather just go to jail. 

‘Hey, I don’t want to be here. I don’t want to be here,’ he yells at him. ‘I wanna sign out!’ 

Sobrino then closes the door of the hospital room and orders O’Connell to ‘shut up and sit down’. 

‘Now you’re going to f*****g close the door and beat my a** again,’ O’Connell tells him. ‘F**k you! Now you think you’re all big now because you’re a f*****g cop?’ 

That’s when Sobrino throws O’Connell’s legs on the bed, punches him in the face, and forcefully twists his arm behind his back. 

Sobrino then approached O'Connell, who had been begging to leave the hospital, and forced his legs onto the hospital bed

Sobrino then approached O’Connell, who had been begging to leave the hospital, and forced his legs onto the hospital bed 

Sobrino is seen here raising his arm as he punches O'Connell in the disturbing video

Sobrino is seen here raising his arm as he punches O’Connell in the disturbing video 

Later in the footage Sobrino can be seen pointing to the camera, making it clear he was well aware he was being recorded the entire time. 

O’Connell’s attorneys said he had repeatedly told Sobrino he did not want medical attention but was still placed in an exam room and handcuffed to the hospital bed, according to WPLG. 

He then told medical staff that he did not want to wait for a doctor, but a nurse continued to collect his vital signs and information. 

O’Connell then told the nurse he needed to pee, and was forced to do so in the room – with Sobrino present – using a handheld urinal while he was still handcuffed to the bed.  

Sobrino claimed in his police report that O’Connell had touched him first. 

‘[I] approached O’Connell and once I placed his legs on the bed, he lifted his free hand and pushed me on my chest, in order to keep me away from him,’ it reads.   

Sobrino is then seen punching O'Connell and forcefully twisting his arm behind his back

Sobrino is then seen punching O’Connell and forcefully twisting his arm behind his back 

O'Connell can be heard yelping out in pain as Sobrino continues to twist his arm on the bed

O’Connell can be heard yelping out in pain as Sobrino continues to twist his arm on the bed

O’Connell’s attorneys said that he is not shown pushing Sobrino in the chest at any point in the bodycam footage. 

Gordon Weekes, one of O’Connell’s public defenders, said the video is proof that Sobrino wanted to ‘beat up’ O’Connell instead of use ‘deescalation techniques’. 

‘It shows how brazen and how comfortable he is in using this type of force and that he will use it even when he knows the camera is running,’ Weekes added. 

The charges against O’Connell have since been dropped.  

Broward County Mayor Mark Bogen called for the department to fire Sobrino. 

‘I’m asking for the Sheriff to take immediate action,’ he said in a statement on Wednesday. ‘There has to be a zero-tolerance policy for abuse and brutality.’ 

Gordon Weekes, one of O'Connell's public defenders, said the video is proof that Sobrino wanted to 'beat up' O'Connell instead of use 'deescalation techniques'

Gordon Weekes, one of O’Connell’s public defenders, said the video is proof that Sobrino wanted to ‘beat up’ O’Connell instead of use ‘deescalation techniques’

‘This is the second time in less than a week where videotape shows a BSO deputy abusing his power. I am asking the State Attorney’s Office to open a criminal investigation into this as well.’ 

BSO said it has since launched a preliminary internal investigation into the incident.

The charges against O'Connell (pictured in his mugshot from the same day) have since been dropped

The charges against O’Connell (pictured in his mugshot from the same day) have since been dropped 

The disturbing bodycam video emerged just days after two BSO officers were seen pepper spraying a 15-year-old boy and slamming him to the ground.  

Prosecutors are examining the actions of Sergeant Greg LaCerra and Deputy Christopher Krickovich after the officers were filmed bringing Delucca Rolle to the ground during a fight.

The footage, which has received nationwide condemnation, shows the officers outside a suburban Fort Lauderdale McDonald’s where 200 students had gathered. 

During the cell phone video, LaCerra is seen spraying Delucca after the boy stands up and appears to say something to him.

After throwing Delucca to the ground, Krickovich jumps on top of the boy and pounds his head into the ground before punching him.

As his head is thrown to the ground, Delucca tries to place his arm underneath his bleeding forehead.

Both officers have been suspended and the case is under internal investigation.  

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk