Deputy arrested for child cruelty

A Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s deputy is in hot water after he used “inordinate force” to force a juvenile into a jail cell at Santa Rosa County Jail back on April 21.
After receiving the complaint from the juvenile and reviewing surveillance video, the detention deputy, Sgt. Ovando Blankenship, who has worked for the county for 12 years, was arrested on Wednesday and charged with 2 third-degree felonies.
According to Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Rich Aloy, back in April Blankenship was tasked with processing a juvenile through the county jail and was supposed to take the minor to the Department of Juvenile Justice in Pensacola.
While the juvenile was being processed, Blankenship used excessive force while placing the minor into a cell. The detention deputy then falsified his report of the incident.
Video was later obtained by detectives with SRCSO, and the recordings varied from Blankenship’s account of the incident.
Blankenship has since been charged with Cruelty Towards a Child and Falsifying Official Documents.
Blankenship was arrested at the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, but will be held at the Walton County Jail. His bond is set at $15,000.