Commission chair and Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri gestures as he speaks during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission Meeting, Thursday, June 7, 2018, in Sunrise, Fla. The commission Thursday will discuss diversion programs for students who commit crimes deemed minor. Suspect Nikolas Cruz was referred to a program while in middle […]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Two deputies have been suspended after an investigation shows they taped derogatory signs to the backs of inmates at a Florida jail.

According to an internal report by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s office, the deputies taped signs to the inmates’ backs and ordered them to stand with their foreheads against a wall. Deputies then instructed other inmates to read the signs out loud.

The report says Deputies Willie Jordan Jr. and Kenneth Rowe told investigators they did it to humiliate and degrade the inmates in front of other inmates.

The Tampa Bay Times reports they will be suspended 240 hours without pay.

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said the suspensions were harsh and signal the officers were close to being fired but were not because they had spotless records before these incidents.