Deputy Jorge Sobrino has been terminated after an internal affairs investigation into the incident which took place on January 1, 2019, Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony announced at a news conference on Wednesday.

Sobrino was caught on a body camera video punching David O’Connell and twisting his arm behind his back while he was handcuffed to a bed in hospital, WFLA reported.

Sobrino had responded to a call at a Walmart in Pompano Beach, Florida, after eyewitnesses said O’Connell had tried to fight a store employee, the station reported. At the scene, Sobrino arrested O’Connell on suspicion of resisting without violence.

O’Connell was taken to Broward Health North in Deerfield Beach, Florida, to get treatment for his injuries. After being handcuffed to the hospital bed, the officer’s body cam captured O’Connell in a verbal altercation with Sobrino.

Sobrino was then seen striking O’Connell on the bed while forcibly twisting his arm behind his back. In his arrest report, Sobrino claimed that he hit the suspect after he pushed him in the chest first, but the video footage didn’t back up his claim, WFLA reported.

The internal affairs investigation determined Sobrino had violated a number of Broward Sheriff’s Office policies, including use of force, discretion and conformity to laws, the sheriff’s office said in a post on Facebook.

At the news conference on Wednesday, Sheriff Tony said a professional standards committee had recommended a 30-day suspension.

But Tony said after reviewing the evidence, he could not allow “a small fraction” of deputies to reflect the entire agency.

“Looking at everything in a full comprehensive manner and being objective, I could not support a discipline action of 30 days of suspension and so he was terminated under my command,” Tony said.

“We cannot allow for a small fraction, that 0.001 percent of deputies who may step out of line, who may violate policy, to be reflective of an agency of 5,500 employees.”

He added: “I talked early on about taking full responsibility and accountability for actions that may have occurred before I was a commander of this agency and ensuring that the public would understand that we will be transparent, we are not going to sidestep these incidents when they take place.

“We will not turn a blind eye and act as though we did not know. When they come to my attention, our command staff will hold people accountable.”

Jeff Bell, president of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Deputies Association, told Newsweek that the union is disappointed by the decision to fire Sobrino. He noted that two captains, two lieutenants and a sergeant had given sworn statements saying Sobrino was within use of force guidelines.

“The union is disappointed that the Sheriff chose to ignore five sworn depositions from two Captains, two Lieutenants and a Sergeant who all stated under oath that Deputy Sobrino’s actions were within the agency’s use of force guidelines and that no policy violations were noted,” he told Newsweek.

“Furthermore, the Sheriff chose to ignore a recommendation from our PSC board which only recommended a suspension. Over 100 years of law enforcement experience and an internal review board of which four hand picked civilians by the Sheriff was just overruled by the Sheriff.”

He added that the decision to terminate Sobrino “has just tainted the minds of potential jurors” as a criminal case is still pending.

Sobrino has been charged with misdemeanor battery, according to the Miami Herald. The 24-year-old, who has been suspended without pay since June, was hired by the Broward Sheriff’s Office in 2015, according to WFLA.