Seminole County deputy arrested for battery on juvenile inmates

A Seminole County Detention Deputy has been charged with battery against three juvenile inmates at the John E. Polk Correctional Facility.

The deputy, Deonte Bell, was put on paid leave and is scheduled to appear for a hearing on the charges Sept. 12 for an arraignment.

According to the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the juveniles had been charged as adults. And after hearing of the incident, they conducted an investigation and came to the conclusion that battery charges needed to be filed on Monday.

According to the inmates, Bell had come across the inmates making noise and not obeying orders while on duty. He proceeded to push and pin them down in their cells. The inmates told law enforcement Bell threatened them and that they’d hit their heads during this incident.

Bell’s side of the story was that he had intervened because one inmate was at risk of being hurt by the others. He said he had given them clear commands and that he had only been trying to “create space and avoid a bigger incident,” and reportedly said he could have done things differently than he had.

But investigators determined they had cause to charge him with three counts of misdemeanor battery.

- Larry Griffin, Herald Staff, LGriffin@MySanfordHerald.com