Jail Inmate Vomited Blood While Deputy Watched Netflix: Sheriff

CLEARWATER, FL — A Pinellas County deputy was suspended after the sheriff’s office said he watched Netflix while an inmate vomited a large amount of blood in his cell.

According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, on the evening of Nov. 17 into the morning of Nov. 18, Deputy Dante Ginn-Davis was assigned to provide constant supervision of inmates at the Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater.

This included watching live video of the inmates on computer monitors and personal security checks in their cells every 15 minutes.

According to an investigation by the sheriff's Administrative Investigation Division, at 7:59 p.m. Ginn-Davis opened up Netflix on his work computer and began watching the channel, blocking out the live video feed.

Investigators said the Netflix channel remained on the computer for the majority of Ginn-Davis' 11 1/2-hour shift.

At around 4:20 a.m. on Nov. 18, an inmate that Ginn-Davis was supposed to be supervising began vomiting large amounts of blood on the floor of his cell. Investigators said Ginn-Davis was unaware that the inmate was in distress because he was still watching Netflix and didn't check the live feed on two other computer monitors.

Both Ginn-Davis and another deputy on duty did a personal check on the inmate but didn't see the blood on the cell floor.

During the shift change, Ginn-Davis told the incoming shift there were no incidents to report.

Deputies finally discovered the blood at 7:39 a.m., more than three hours after the inmate became ill. The inmate was then taken to the hospital.

When questioned, Ginn-Davis admitted to the violation, but said he only watched Netflix “maybe once a week” at work.

Ginn-Davis was suspended for 40 hours over four shifts.