How bad has it gotten for Hillsborough Sheriff David Gee?

Well, let’s put it this way. Roger Clemens had a better week.

In the snippet of time it took for Orient Road Jail Detention Deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones to toss quadriplegic Brian Sterner out of his wheelchair, Gee’s department has become the poster child for every stereotype of the redneck, doltish Southern law enforcement officer. Good grief, this episode made Jackie Gleason’s Sheriff Buford T. Justice from “Smokey & The Bandit,” look like Inspector Morse.

Governor Charlie Crist is aghast and so is Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum. Not good. And it gets even worse.

Hillsborough State Attorney Mark Ober is investigating the incident and there are rumblings even the U.S. Attorney General’s office may start nosing around the treatment of Sterner. Oh dear. But it gets even worse.

Log onto Google, type in: “Hillsborough Sheriff wheelchair,” and you’ll discover nearly 500 versions of this story have been reported - around the world.

The tale of Sterner’s rough treatment in the booking area of the jail at the hands of Marsall-Jones, while other deputies do - nothing, has appeared on televison staions and in newspapers coast-to-coast. But wait. There’s more.

The story has appeared on the BBC World News broadcast. Sterner’s fate also has been reported as far away as India and Australia. And yes, it gets worse.

Since it was posted on YouTube, the Orient Road Jail video of Sterner’s abuse has been viewed more than 52,500 times.

As public relations disasters go, David Gee and his jail have become the Mad Cow Disease meets Michael Vick of corrections.

In time, this too will pass. Discipline will be levied. And Sterner will likely receive a rather large check.

Until then the High Sheriff will simply have to endure being portrayed around the world of overseeing a department of dimwitted bullies straight out of “In The Heat Of The Night.”

This is what happens when the PR Gods are angered. And they are very, very, very wadded these days.

Not good.