Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony Fired Deputy Who Punched Man Handcuffed To Hospital Bed

FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) - A Broward Sheriff's deputy has been fired for allegedly hitting a man in custody who was cuffed to a hospital bed.

The incident happened in January. That's when deputy Jorge Sobrino is seen punching a man on his BSO bodycam video.

Deputy Sobrino was charged with misdemeanor battery and is awaiting trial.

WATCH: BSO DEPUTY PUNCH MAN HANDCUFFED TO HOSPITAL BED

But Wednesday morning, Sheriff Gregory Tony said he made the decision to terminate Sobrino, despite a recommendation from the Professional Standards Committee that he be given a 30-day suspension.

"I thank the public defender's office for actually bringing this to my attention. As I had just took command and this occurred before I was actually the sheriff. We instituted and launched an internal affairs investigation. There were cries from the public to ensure that justice was held and that we did not allow for any type of abuse to take place from our law enforcement parties," said Tony.

"We are going to be transparent. We are not going to sidestep these incidents when they take place. We will not turn a blind eye and act as though we did not know," said Tony.

WATCH: SHERIFF TONY NEWS CONFERENCE ON TERMINATION OF DEPUTY

The sheriff pointed out that they've had a similar case where a young deputy, who was on probation, struck a man in handcuffs and he was immediately terminated.

Attorneys for the Sobrino say they fighting the criminal charge and plan to fight the termination so he can get his job back. Attorney Mike Finesilver, one of the deputy's attorneys, said the bodycam video was reviewed by two BSO captains, two lieutenants, and a sergeant who all said Sobrino did nothing wrong.

BSO union head Jeff Bell says Sheriff Tony is playing politics as he gets ready to run against deposed Sheriff Scott Israel.

"It looks awful but it is lawful. When you slow down that video frame-by-frame, you see the individual in the hospital reach up with his arm in the direction of the deputy's head," Bell said. "We also have five sworn depositions, from two captains, two lieutenants, and a sergeant, who all say under oath use of force was well within the guidelines of the BSO and no policy violations have been committed."