A former San Diego Sheriff's Office deputy, Jeremiah Manuyag Flores, 45, has been jailed for four years and nine months after fracturing the spine of a handcuffed suspect and then lying about it. Security footage captured him smirking as he walked away from the man's cell, and the case matters as a stark example of custodial abuse and attempted cover-up by a serving officer being met with a substantial custodial sentence.

In the August 2024 incident, Flores shoved a shackled 57-year-old pretrial detainee, identified as JP, from behind at the San Diego Central Courthouse jail, sending him headfirst into a wall. The man suffered a spinal column fracture and was left lying in a pool of his own blood for more than two hours before another deputy found him. Prosecutors said Flores provided no medical aid, failed to report his use of excessive force, and made multiple false statements in his report, including claiming "no force used". He was sentenced on Tuesday.