BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Three Broward Sheriff’s Office detention deputies were arrested last week and face aggravated battery charges in connection with a 2022 incident involving a female inmate at the Broward County Main Jail, according to an arrest warrant obtained by Local 10 News on Friday.
Jail records show Deputies Cleopatra Johnnie, 47, Denia Walker, 37, and Zakiyyah Polk, 47, were taken into custody following the issuance of an arrest warrant on May 27.
The charges stem from an altercation on Oct. 4, 2022, during the jail intake process.
According to investigators, the woman was being processed into the facility when a verbal dispute broke out in a search cell.
Authorities said the woman, who had been ordered to change into standard detention attire, reportedly refused to remove her personal undergarments.
The argument escalated, and investigators said the deputies used excessive force — including physical strikes, deployment of pepper spray, and use of a department-issued Taser, according to the warrant.
The warrant stated that surveillance video shows the woman being shoved and dragged into a “blind spot” in the cell — an area not visible on jail cameras — where she was punched and kicked by the three deputies.
It stated that she was later treated by jail medical staff for facial injuries, exposure to pepper foam, and Taser-related wounds.
Days later, deputies said she was hospitalized and diagnosed with a skin infection at the site where she had been hit with the Taser.
Investigators said video captured by the jail’s internal surveillance system and documented in the warrant, played a key role in the investigation.
Records show all three deputies were booked and later transferred to the Paul Rein Detention Facility. They were released on $7,500 bonds after a judge signed orders for their release.
As of Friday, BSO has not publicly commented on the arrests. However, they did confirm that all three deputies are currently on administrative investigative leave with pay.
According to employment records:
- Polk was hired by BSO on Sept. 9, 2002.
- Johnnie was hired on July 16, 2001.
- Walker was hired on Oct. 19, 2015.
