WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - A Sedgwick County deputy has been accused of slapping and pushing a handcuffed inmate who was in a holding cell at the courthouse.
Matthew Stineman, 47, was charged last week with mistreatment of a confined person, Sheriff Jeff Easter said Tuesday. He was placed on restricted duty on Jan. 30, the day the incident allegedly happened.
Easter said the inmate was in a holding cell awaiting a hearing when he began rubbing the handcuffs against the wall. When he ignored a command to stop, Stineman went into the cell and “pushed the inmate and then slapped him” on the face, Easter said.
Stineman has been a deputy for about 13 years and the allegations are out of character for him, Easter said.
“We have not had any type of issues before with this particular deputy, but it does not recuse him from acting professionally and with a manner that we would expect in the Sheriff’s Office,” the sheriff said.
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