FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A former inmate at the Broward County Jail took the stand Wednesday in the trial of a Broward Sheriff's Office detention deputy charged with battery on an inmate.
Mark Evangelista says he was sweeping the floors nearby when the alleged assault occurred. He says he heard Deputy Delia Daly-England tell another deputy, "That's what happens when you piss me off."
The incident was caught on surveillance video in May 2012. The victim, Lauren Militello, was being booked into the Broward County Jail for a violation of probation charge.
As Militello was being escorted into the jail, she says she was violently pushed to the ground, and her head smashed into a wall.
The video shows Militello being dragged by the hair into a holding cell, where she claims the beating continued.
Militello says she has trouble walking because she has multiple sclerosis and had a sprained ankle at the time. She says Daly-England was annoyed that she wasn't moving faster, and that's why she pushed her down and dragged her by her hair.
In her report, Daly-England claimed Militello turned to her in a hostile manner. Daly-England's attorney, Lewis Fisher called Militello a "faker" and says she resisted officers, was uncooperative, and didn't want to be taken into custody. He also claimed that Militello has a history of mental illness and drug abuse and says detention deputies have the right to use reasonable force to control a situation.
Daly-England rejected a plea deal that would have given her six-month probation and with hold adjudication. She still works for BSO, but the department says she has had no contact with inmates since the incident.
BSO launched an Internal Affairs investigation and is awaiting the outcome of the trial before deciding Daly-England's fate.