Caught On Camera: Woman Dragged Through Broward Courthouse
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BROWARD (CBSMiami) – A woman was dragged through the Broward courthouse on Monday for reportedly being loud and disrespectful.
"You're hurting me. You're (expletive) hurting me. Stop. You don't give nobody a chance. All I wanted to do was sob for a few minutes, cry. That's all wanted to do was cry for a few minutes because my life is in your hands," cried Dasyl Rios as she was dragged down a courthouse hallway by a jail deputy.
CLICK HERE To Watch Lauren Pastrana's Report
The incident was captured on cell phone video.
It all began moments before when Rios was in court for a competency hearing.
The public defenders' office said two doctors deemed her incompetent. A deputy said she was loud and disrespectful and left the courtroom.
"She mumbling and using profanity, yes," Syvia Rios said of her daughter's behavior. "I hear this sound like I've never heard before. I big bang, stomp. I'm thinking something happened."
Sylvia Rios doesn't need a cell phone video to see what happened to her daughter.
She was there to witness it firsthand.
"When I saw her being dragged, she saw me and said, 'Mommy please help'," Rios told CBS4's Lauren Pastrana.
Attorney Lynn Desanti said when she saw Rios, she was crying sitting on a bench outside the courtroom, she wanted to say goodbye to her mom. That's when she said the guard began yelling.
"At one point the deputy said if you're not going to get up and walk, I'm going to drag you. And he literally grabbed her by her feet, pulled her off the bench and started dragging this 28-year-old woman," said Desanti.
Attorney Bill Gelin, who writes the JAA Blog, heard the commotion. When he saw her begin dragged, he pulled out his camera and started taping.
"They're trained to deal with these situations. But they just grabbed that chain around her feet, like she's an animal in a Wild West movie or somebody who's being dragged by a horse from a rope. This is 2015," said Gelin.
Before being dragged back to jail, several deputies were seen around Rios, while she was pleading not to go back to jail.
"I'm not going back to get beat up. I'm not going back to get beat up, no. I'm not going back to get beat up by BSO. No, no, no," Rios screamed.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel released a statement regarding the issue.
I am concerned by the way the deputy handled this situation, because there were other courses of action he could have taken. Internal Affairs has initiated a complete and comprehensive investigation, and the deputy has been placed on restricted duty pending the outcome.
Sylvia Rios is glad the matter is being looked in to, but says her fight for better treatment for mentally ill inmates is only just beginning.
"It's the most horrible feeling. You're helpless," she said. "At that moment I lost all my faith in the judicial system."
She wants her daughter to know that she will always be there for her.
"I haven't given up on her. I'm going to do whatever it takes to make sure she gets the help," Rios said. "I want her to be the Dasyl I know, that everyone knows."
Sylvia Rios says her daughter's next court appearance is scheduled for next month. She is unsure whether Monday's incident will have any impact in her daughter's pending case.
