Pinellas County sheriff gives details on firing of 5 corrections employees
- Natasha L
- Nov 2
- 2 min read
Post inspired by: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DeR8umufmI
Summary
Two unrelated misconduct cases at the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office led to five terminations:
Aug 11, 2025 — Deputy Hardwick (Jail Mental-Health Unit)
An inmate with psychiatric oversight kept his arms in the tray slot.
Hardwick retrieved a Lysol spray from his backpack, sprayed the inmate in the face, then struck the inmate’s hands with the can.
He lied to supervisors and in his report, claiming it was water from a bottle and even sent a stock photo to support the lie; later admitted to using Lysol in the internal hearing.
Terminated (Oct 28, 2025). The sheriff declined criminal charges for various stated reasons; inmate not injured.
May 15, 2025 — Four Jail Staff (Booking Area): Lt. Jason Franchesvik, Sgt. Carrie Lynn Colossimo, Cpl. Emanuel Nomikos, Dep. Katherine Cantrell
A woman arrested for disorderly intoxication was kept in a transport van ~3 hours, then placed handcuffed & shackled in a cell without a toilet.
On camera she urinated into the floor drain and, while trying to pull up her pants behind her back, briefly exposed her buttocks/genitals.
Deputy Cantrell photographed the exposure off the monitor with a personal phone; shared it in a Facebook group chat and texted it to her spouse.
Cpl. Nomikos froze the explicit frame on a public-view monitor for over an hour and made derogatory remarks; wrote a vague/inaccurate report.
Sgt. Colossimo viewed, laughed, and participated in sharing/deriding; failed to intervene.
Lt. Franchesvik, the shift commander, saw the photo, made a crude comment, took no corrective action, printed and showed it to others, and misjudged the incident as intentional “flashing.”
All four were terminated.
Sheriff called the conduct “reprehensible,” announced remedial measures (no extended van holding; emphasis on dignity/respect and leadership accountability).
Key takeaways
Zero tolerance: Five deputies (including a lieutenant and sergeant) fired for use-of-force misuse, privacy violations, and dishonest reporting.
Leadership failure matters: Misconduct flowed downward; the highest-ranking supervisor normalized inappropriate behavior.
Custodial care standards: Placing a detainee in a cell without a toilet led to predictable harm and humiliation—an operations and training failure.
Policy vs. criminal threshold: Internal policy violations can be termination-worthy even when prosecutors decline criminal charges.
Digital ethics: Recording, sharing, and displaying explicit detainee images on personal devices/social media is a serious breach of privacy and policy.
Documentation integrity: False reports and cover-ups (fake “water bottle,” inaccurate narratives) were pivotal in discipline.
Mental-health custody: Force against a psychiatric-status inmate underscores the need for de-escalation and specialized care.
Remedial actions: Agency says it has implemented process fixes (intake flow, supervision culture) to prevent repeats.
Public trust: The sheriff publicly condemned the conduct to reassure community accountability.
Civil exposure: Facts suggest potential civil liability (privacy/civil rights), even without criminal charges.
Related Keywords
police accountability 2025
jail misconduct investigation
inmate rights & privacy
correctional officer terminations
internal affairs findings
law enforcement ethics training
use of force in custody
leadership failure in policing
custodial mental health care
civil rights litigation risk
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