A Land O'Lakes jail detention deputy has been fired after he was arrested Wednesday for battery on an inmate.
According to a Pasco Sheriff's report, at about 6:30 Christmas night, 45-year-old Philip Bruce Walters grabbed the inmate by the neck and punched him in the head.
Witnesses told arresting deputies that the beating happened "with no aggressive manner from the inmate," the report states.
During the scuffle, the inmate grabbed the two-way radio receiver on Walters' uniform to call other deputies for help, said sheriff's spokesman Kevin Doll.
“The responding deputies thought the deputy was actually under attack. They responded but then found out it was actually the inmate who was allegedly being attacked,” Doll said.
The inmate was identified as 29-year-old Trent Godizzaro, who was arrested on Nov. 15, 2012 on a charge of domestic battery.
According to the report, Godizzaro suffered a “bruise and swelling on his left forehead and abrasions on his neck.”
Doll said Godizzaro was lying on his bunk “mouthing off” to Walters.
"However, you have to have a thick skin to be a deputy in detention,” Doll said. “You know, inmates are going to mouth off to you all the time. So, you have to have a thick skin and be professional.”
During questioning, Walters first denied the beating, then told other deputies "the inmate sat up in an aggressive manner and (Walters) had to push him back into his bunk."
“That's just wrong of the officer. He's got to learn to control [his] temper,” said Godizarro’s mother, Rosalind Moore.
Walters was booked into the same jail where he worked on $500 bail.
Walters has been working as a detention deputy at the jail since March. He was still on a 1-year probationary status when he was fired.
"We take the care and control and custody of inmates very seriously and our deputies have to remain professional at all times. And that's why this deputy is no longer here at the Pasco Sheriff's Office," Doll said.