JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – An officer accused of beating a woman while she was in handcuffs signed a form refusing medical treatment for her after the incident at the Duval County Jail, according to a report from the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.
The sheriff fired officer Akinyemi Borisade after cameras captured footage of him repeatedly striking Mayra Martinez, 31, while she was in handcuffs just outside the jail.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office released the full video of the incident Monday.
The new video, which is more than two hours long, shows it took 15 minutes for paramedics to arrive and revive Martinez after she fell to the floor unconscious. In the meantime, the officers in the video ignore her limp body on the floor of the sally port.
According to the JFRD report, once rescue was finally called, paramedics arrived in 3 minutes and spent 20 minutes with Martinez, but then she was never taken to a hospital.
Martinez told paramedics Borisade hit her in the stomach. Firefighters said Martinez had no visible injuries, but paramedics couldn't look at her stomach without undressing her because of what she was wearing.
They said she answered questions appropriately, was “neurologically intact” and denied medical complaints.
Firefighters conveyed their assessment of Martinez to Borisade, who had custody of her, and he signed a form refusing medical treatment and transport to a hospital, according to the report.
JFRD's report indicated that Borisade said jail staff would take Martinez to the hospital. At least two firefighters asserted it “would be good for the patient to be transported for evaluation.”
The paramedics left Martinez in police custody, and she was never taken to the hospital by authorities.
John Phillips, Martinez's attorney, said the more he learns about the case the more upset he becomes.
“Everything disturbs me about it. If I'm rear-ended by a semi, do I let the driver of the semi make medical decisions for me? If I'm the victim of domestic abuse, does the abuser get to make decisions for me?” Phillips said. “That's the way it's going down at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office with officer Borisade saying, 'Oh, no, no ambulances right there, and we're not letting her ride,' despite the fact that she was unconscious for 15 minutes.”
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said the jail does have a medical staff.
“They have doctors and nurses at the jail,” Smith said. “If they felt her injuries needed to be treated at a hospital, then they would have refused to admit her into the jail and would not have taken her in. It appears that was not the case.”
With a lawsuit now pending, that procedure is being questioned.
“The officer does not have the training to disagree, No. 1,” Phillips said. “No. 2, the officer that caused the injury certainly has a conflict of interest, especially now that he's been charged, and there's a key component: knowing whether it's a small injury or large injury. He doesn't want her to go to the hospital.
“This isn't a civil rights case; it's a human rights case at this point,” he added.
The State Attorney's Office isn’t commenting on the case, saying it's an active investigation against the officer.
JSO still has not released information about the other officers seen standing around during the beating and not helping Martinez afterward.
Police release full video of officer beating woman
About 1 hour and 7 minutes into the video, Martinez, who was charged with trespassing and resisting arrest, is brought into the sallyport.
Fourteen minutes later, it appears Martinez is yelling at an officer.
Eleven minutes after that, Borisade walks over and shoves Martinez into a wall. She kicks him and then he punches her.
Phillips said that part of the video is medically important.
"Her doctors need to see how long she was passed out. I mean it's so significant and to withhold it for, now 2 1/2 weeks, it really is frustrating. It's unfortunate," Phillips said.
In the video, paramedics arrived 15 minutes later.
They tended to Martinez on the ground. She was not transported to the hospital.
After 10 minutes of tending to her, the paramedics walked away but remained in the sallyport.
Thirteen minutes later, Martinez is seen against a trash can, trying to flip the lid with her feet.
Seconds later, she sat up on her own.
Less than two minutes after she sits up, she's led into the jail.
Phillips said that his team is not blaming emergency medical technicians, but the officer who hit Martinez.
"The officer is the first and foremost candidate on our list. He's the one who breached her civil rights with physical force," Phillips said. "To leave her unconscious for 10 minutes is stunning and offensive. And then to render aid and still leave her in there, it's just you don't want your daughters treated like that. And we should all treat each other like we want to be treated."
News4Jax also obtained video last month, which appears to be shot by a dashboard camera, taken in a parking lot in front of Scores, an adult club on University Boulevard at Philips Highway. According to the police report, they were called to the bar to escort Martinez from the property because she was drunk and belligerent after quitting work on her first day.
Martinez told the News4Jax I-TEAM last week that she's recovering from a concussion and nerve damage.
The sheriff said he is investigating the actions of the other officers in the video.