The pairing of Yanko Romero and Brandt Diaz in a shared cell has raised questions about whether the Lee County Sheriff's Office violated policy.
For more than a week, WINK News has reported that deputies said Romero beat Diaz while he was sleeping.
Romero is now facing charges for that incident as well as the murder charges that put him in jail to begin with.
The Lee County Sheriff's Office has maintained that deputies followed policy when placing Romero and Diaz together, citing the Florida Model Jail Standards (see attached PDF). However, retired Police Chief Kristen Ziman, an expert in law enforcement policy, disagrees.
"Did they follow policy? If we're looking at the policy the way I see it clearly, it is no," said Ziman.
Diaz was in custody for nonviolent crimes such as auto theft, burglary and larceny, while Romero was under arrest for murder.
Deputies knew Romero was a person of interest in a separate murder case in Michigan, and his common-law wife informed investigators of his history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.
"He was charged with murder. He was a suspect in another homicide, and he had a documented history of mental illness and erratic behavior. And in contrast, Diaz, who was incarcerated for nonviolent charges so, you're looking at these from a corrections best practice standpoint, these two individuals appear to be a mismatched pairing in a shared cell," said Ziman.
Ziman pointed to Section 7.4 of the Florida Model Jail Standards, which states that inmates with mental illness fall under a special needs designation, requiring jail staff to provide reasonable protection.
Sections 6.12 and 6.13 further emphasize the need for classification based on medical history and reasonable protection of all inmates.
"Was his violent potential and mental health status fully assessed and considered and was it shared, so, you know, does in putting, placing him as an inmate, was his background shared with the jail staff so they could make the appropriate decision on where to house him. So there was a disconnect somewhere, in my professional estimation, but I'm not sure where that breakdown occurred," said Ziman.
When WINK News reached out to the Lee County Sheriff's Office regarding these sections of the Florida Model Jail Standards, they declined to comment further.
The sheriff's office did say it is conducting an investigation into the matter. The Diaz family and their attorney have vowed to pursue this issue "to the end."