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Who is James Jones? Pinellas County deputy arrested, fired over alleged inmate assault
James Jones, a corrections deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, was arrested and fired after allegedly punching a restrained inmate while on duty
A Pinellas County, Florida corrections officer, identified as James Jones, was arrested on January 28 and immediately terminated from the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. He was accused of assaulting an inmate he was assigned to guard at a hospital, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri announced at a press conference.
According to the sheriff's office, the incident happened on December 1, 2025, when Jones was assigned to watch inmate George Miller. Miller was taken to Northside Hospital in St. Petersburg following a medical emergency and required surgery at the time.
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Who is James Jones?
James Jones, 66, was a law enforcement officer for 22 years of experience as a corrections officer.
On December 1, Deputy Jones, who was tasked with guarding George Miller in the hospital, informed his superiors that Miller was throwing a tantrum.
A registered nurse assigned to Miller's care reported to detectives a few hours later that she witnessed Deputy Jones punch Miller in the chest with a closed fist and heard a shouting altercation between the two.
Gualtieri said, “There was simply no lawful reason for Deputy Jones to strike Miller, and in doing so, he committed a crime, he committed a battery.”
He further stated that Jones did not carry out his duties as a deputy sheriff should have. He said, "He [Jones] didn’t act professionally and just handle the situation. He lost his temper and he split open Miller’s eye, punched him in the chest and split open his eye, and he has to be accountable for that.”
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Miller was a violent inmate
Miller, 56, was described by deputies as a “problematic inmate” because of prior disruptions in the report released by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.
At the hospital, too, when his lieutenant questioned Deputy Jones about the incident, he claimed that Miller had struck and kicked him, even though he had not initially reported that Miller had behaved violently toward him.
Gualtieri said in the press conference on Thursday, “There is an indication Deputy Jones may not have had Miller properly restrained, and at least one hand or leg may have been unrestrained while Miller was under Deputy Jones’ supervision.”
However, since there is no video of the incident, it is still unclear, and the office is still working to figure out if Miller was properly restrained.
