Former Leon County deputy faces charge for striking inmate at jail

A now-former deputy who worked at Leon County's jail is facing a criminal case related to a report of him hitting an inmate.

Jerry Dent, 49, was arrested Thursday on a misdemeanor charge of battery after he surrendered himself in Wakulla County, said Shonda Knight, a spokesperson for the Leon County Sheriff's Office, which operates the county jail. He was released from Leon County custody later that same day, according to court records.

The battery reportedly happened June 4 as the man was trying to get the inmate to go into a holding cell. He shoved the inmate when he tried to grab something from a bin of his belongings that was sitting just outside the cell door, records show.

Surveillance footage from the jail shows the two men were standing in the threshold when Dent shoved him again and punched him twice in the face.

He pushed the inmate a third time, causing him to take a few steps back into the cell. He closed the few feet of space between them and grabbed the inmate's shirt before swinging and hitting his face again.

The inmate told detectives in an interview that Dent grabbed and slammed him onto the concrete bed in the cell when he punched him a final time. He swung at the deputy in self defense, but told detectives that he didn't think he landed the punch, according to court records.

Six other correctional officers entered the cell after hearing the two men yell at each other. It took five deputies to pull Dent off of the inmate and remove him from the cell, records say.

In an interview with detectives, Dent said the inmate punched him first when he tried to keep him from exiting the cell to grab something from the bin.

The deputy "advised after he was struck, he became upset and blacked out, causing him to not remember much of the remainder of the incident," records say.

Investigators had Dent watch the surveillance footage of the altercation: The deputy "believed at the time of the incident he was struck by (the inmate), but admitted the video does show (him) hitting (the inmate) twice without (the inmate) attempting to hit him," records say.

The inmate told detectives he mentioned the incident to detention staff when he was released shortly after but wasn't concerned about it "because he was no longer in custody." But when he was rearrested a few weeks later, he was labeled as a "violent inmate" because of the incident.

He said he thought this was unfair, and it made him rethink the incident, according to court records. "During the interview, (the inmate) advised he didn't want (Dent) to lose his job," records say. Knight said Dent had been employed with the Sheriff's Office since 1999 but was terminated because of the incident.

Breaking & trending news reporter Elena Barrera can be reached at ebarrera@tallahassee.com . Follow her on X: @elenabarreraaa .

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Former Leon County deputy faces charge for striking inmate at jail