Video: Deputies Suspended For Taping Mean Signs To Inmates' Backs

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Two Pinellas County detention deputies have been suspended after being accused of taping hand-written signs with mean messages to the backs of inmates.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, deputies Willie Jordan Jr. and Kevin Rowe are accused of taping signs with derogatory messages to the backs of inmates at the Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater. They then ordered the inmates to stand with their foreheads against a wall while fellow inmates were told to read the signs out loud.

The deputies said they did this to humiliate the inmates.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the only reason the deputies weren't fired is because they had spotless records up until this incident. They were suspended for 240 hours without pay.