No. It was proportionate, considering the instigator’s “’tude’”
There was a time when a father could discipline his daughter by acting just like this sheriff's deputy did. However, if a father disciplines his daughter in that manner these days, he will more or less automatically be arrested and taken to jail on a domestic violence charge.
There was a time when a husband could discipline his wife by acting just as this sheriff's deputy did. However, if a husband disciplines his wife in that manner these days, he will more or less automatically be arrested and taken to jail on a domestic violence charge. It would not be a defense to argue that the wife was in fact disobedient.
Should a sheriff's deputy have more latitude than a parent or husband to act this way when a child is disobedient? Who do you trust more to discipline children - police officers or parents? I think this case raises interesting questions like that.
Times have changed. Fathers and husbands have lost many of their rights to discipline disobedient children and wives in ways that were once considered legitimate.