Florida deputies mistake legally blind man's cane for gun, arrest him | USA TODAY

A legally blind man, arrested by police after they mistook his cane for a gun, filed a complaint with the Columbia County Sheriff's Office in Florida.

Police arrested a legally blind man in Florida after they mistook his cane for a weapon, prompting the sheriff's office to investigate and temporarily suspend the deputies involved for their behavior.

The man arrested, James Hodges, has filed a formal complaint against the Columbia County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office, a spokesperson with the office told USA TODAY. The involved officers were Deputy Jayme Gohde and her supervisor Sgt. Randy Harrison, the spokesperson said.

Sheriff Mark Hunter said he was "troubled" by what he saw in the bodycam footage of the incident in a statement released by the sheriff's office on Monday. Hunter also released a video statement on Tuesday and said the deputy involved will be suspended without pay for two days. Her supervisor will be demoted immediately, suspended without pay for seven days, and won't be eligible for any "favorable action for two years," Hunter said.

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#Blind #Arrest #Police

[garysgarage.]

Can't just walk down the street without the cops arresting you... Meanwhile the cops won't go anywhere near the real criminals.

[jourdenne]

They didn't arrest him because they thought he had a gun, they arrested him cuz he wouldn't lick the boots.

[Klusterfrick]

Guns and canes don’t look anything alike. Those cops just hate blind people

[freedomlover]

Suspensions of 7 days and 2 days? What a slap in the face to the citizens and residents of Lake City. What a joke. These officers should be fired.

[haydeehernandez]

That's it!!!! 7 days and 2 days it's a shame how police think there superman with their guns and uniform, and yelling to inocent people

[TomokoAbe_]

He can sue the police department for false arrest and possibly some kind of discrimination thing due to a disability.

[amandascott]

That's not discipline - that's laughing. Disgrace!

[byronkennedy]

I really hope there's a lawsuit coming. And the police union should pay for it because they defend bad cops even when they are clearly wrong.

[PilotFlightMars]

USA Today, there is far more to this interaction, as well as the arrest report, the lies, the 26 hours in a cell for no crime that you have ignored.
This report is substandard and doesn’t serve the public well.

[bigdaddyrat]

They're as aggressive as hell when it comes to a blind man and his cane, they think little of emptying their service revolver into an unarmed man's back at point blank range or ambushing a teen doing nothing more than eating a burger in his car in the burger joints parking lot but an active shooter in an elementary school scares the living bejesus out of them.
They are not always the good guy with a gun they're portrayed to be.
To serve and protect is turning into harass and bully, and the reckless use of lethal force on nonviolent citizens has got to stop.

[savannahm.laurentian]

REMEDIAL civil rights training? In Florida?
Yeah, that's extent of their understanding.

[maverickjordan]

If you really wanted to punish the cops, fire them both! If they were so sure he had a gun, the moment he reached into his back pocket, why didn't they tell him don't reach?!?!?

[McCucumber]

I have a copy of the arrest report on my channel. The lady lies and lies and lies. It's disappointing that they were both given slaps on the wrist instead of fired and criminally charged like seemingly most people want.

[Professional.student]

Wow! I hope this man gets his justice!!

[osomnm]

Admits to being a tyrant and gets almost no punishment. ABSOLUTELY disgraceful and the department will face its consequences.

[Shadowfax]

I hate that this happened but I'm so glad this video came across my phone screen today. I am saying here and now, I will do better every single day to make sure I'm doing my part to prevent this type of stuff from happening. I know I am one human being and realistically, my changes and help will do little to fix this issue. But if many of us do our part on the daily, change surely will happen. I am motivated and ready for change! I can't stand seeing our black community treated like shit for no reason!! No reason other than the color of their damn skin. I can't stand seeing our disabled community treated like shit, just because they can not fight and stand up for themselves. Change is on the horizon and I'm ready to do my part.

[randizimo]

This is how A Corrupt Sherriff leads a corrupt department.

[stancarney]

If I was on the jury I would give him millions. The limit of the city’s insurance policy. That will stop this!

[vang]

They need to be fired not retrained. Bad habits die hard.

[johnspartan]

I liked how they cut out the deputies response when asked if she was a tyrant, she didn't hesitate to say "why yes I am!". Truly disgusting from law enforcement that claims to "serve & protect" ultimately decides to "haras and arrest" instead.