A pair of Florida sheriff’s deputies are being investigated for arresting a legally blind man after mistaking the folded cane in his back pocket for a firearm.
James Hodges, 61, was detained by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Oct. 31 as he walked on a sidewalk on his way home from the courthouse, First Coast News reported.
“Hi there. What’s this in your back pocket? I just saw you walking,” a female deputy says within the bodycam footage.
“It’s a navigational aid. What’s the issue? You’re a tyrant?” Hodges responds.
“Yeah, I’m, actually,” she says.
The deputy asks Hodges for his name and date of birth, but he refuses to offer the data, arguing that she doesn’t have reasonable cause to make such a request.
“Do you wish me to place you in handcuffs right away?” the deputy asks.
“What’s your suspicion?” he asks.
“It looked such as you were carrying a gun in your back pocket,” the deputy says. “I’m stopping to ensure that you’re carrying it properly.”
The person then pulls out the stick and shows it to the opposite deputy, who says it could resemble a gun.
“Her suspicion was that you just were armed,” the deputy says.
“But now she’s verified that I’m not armed,” says Hodges, who again refuses to present his ID, at which point they place him in handcuffs and appear to take his driver’s license out of his pocket.
When asked if he’s legally blind, Hodges says he’s and explains that his jury duty was canceled.
“Why weren’t you using your stick? You don’t should use your stick on a regular basis?” a deputy asks.
“Not on a regular basis,” Hodges replies and asks the feminine deputy for her badge number.
“You realize what? Put him in jail for resisting,” an officer is heard saying at that time.
Hodges was charged with resisting arrest without violence, Motion News Jax reported.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said in an announcement that “Sheriff Hunter is troubled by what he has seen within the video and the matter is being addressed.
“An administrative investigation was initiated on November 3, 2022 when the incident was delivered to our attention. If policy violations are sustained on the conclusion of that investigation, appropriate motion shall be taken,” it said.
Hodges told First Coast News that he has gotten support from the community after the incident.
“Makes my chest swell up not in a proud way, in a really appreciative way,” he told the outlet, adding that he has made a proper criticism against the deputies.
A pair of Florida sheriff’s deputies are being investigated for arresting a legally blind man after mistaking the folded cane in his back pocket for a firearm.
James Hodges, 61, was detained by the Columbia County Sheriff’s Office deputies on Oct. 31 as he walked on a sidewalk on his way home from the courthouse, First Coast News reported.
“Hi there. What’s this in your back pocket? I just saw you walking,” a female deputy says within the bodycam footage.
“It’s a navigational aid. What’s the issue? You’re a tyrant?” Hodges responds.
“Yeah, I’m, actually,” she says.
The deputy asks Hodges for his name and date of birth, but he refuses to offer the data, arguing that she doesn’t have reasonable cause to make such a request.
“Do you wish me to place you in handcuffs right away?” the deputy asks.
“What’s your suspicion?” he asks.
“It looked such as you were carrying a gun in your back pocket,” the deputy says. “I’m stopping to ensure that you’re carrying it properly.”
The person then pulls out the stick and shows it to the opposite deputy, who says it could resemble a gun.
“Her suspicion was that you just were armed,” the deputy says.
“But now she’s verified that I’m not armed,” says Hodges, who again refuses to present his ID, at which point they place him in handcuffs and appear to take his driver’s license out of his pocket.
When asked if he’s legally blind, Hodges says he’s and explains that his jury duty was canceled.
“Why weren’t you using your stick? You don’t should use your stick on a regular basis?” a deputy asks.
“Not on a regular basis,” Hodges replies and asks the feminine deputy for her badge number.
“You realize what? Put him in jail for resisting,” an officer is heard saying at that time.
Hodges was charged with resisting arrest without violence, Motion News Jax reported.
The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office said in an announcement that “Sheriff Hunter is troubled by what he has seen within the video and the matter is being addressed.
“An administrative investigation was initiated on November 3, 2022 when the incident was delivered to our attention. If policy violations are sustained on the conclusion of that investigation, appropriate motion shall be taken,” it said.
Hodges told First Coast News that he has gotten support from the community after the incident.
“Makes my chest swell up not in a proud way, in a really appreciative way,” he told the outlet, adding that he has made a proper criticism against the deputies.
