According to the Sun-Sentinel, a Broward County Sheriff's deputy has been reassigned after an investigation revealed that he showed preferential treatment to Miami Dolphins defensive end Phillip Merling, who was arrested last week after a domestic violence incident.

Merling was arrested after he was accused of punching his 21-year old pregnant girlfriend five times in the face. Merling was released on $15,000 bond on May 27, and attended Dolphins' mini-camp last weekend.

To avoid television cameras, Commander Alvin Pollock, who oversees the deputies at the courthouse and works security at Dolphins games, led Merling out a side entrance of the jail and gave him a ride to his Weston, Florida home in an unmarked Sheriff's Office vehicle.