Three law enforcement officers in Camden County, Georgia, have been charged with battery and violating their oaths of office after a video of them brutally beating a Black inmate was made public.
In the video, the three law enforcement personnel — officer Mason Garrick and Camden County deputies Ryan Biegel and Braxton Massey — can be seen beating a Black inmate named Jarrett Hobbs.
According to The Daily Beast, the attack occurred at the Camden County Safety Complex.
Mr Hobbs was arrested and booked into the facility for speeding, driving with a suspended licence and for possessing a controlled substance, according to CBS 47.
The footage, which was released by Mr Hobbs’ legal team, appears to show five law enforcement officers entering the inmate’s isolation cell and grabbing his face and neck before they begin beating him. The men then drag Mr Hobbs out of his cell and continue to pummel him.
The defence attorneys then released audio from the incident, in which Mr Hobbs can be heard screaming as the men beat him.
"I’ll break your f****** thumb if you don’t let go," a voice — which the attorneys attribute to a sheriff’s deputy — yells at Mr Hobbs in the recording.
According to FirstCoastNews, the other two men involved in the attack were disciplined but were not charged.
Attorney Bakari Sellers, who is representing Mr Hobbs and his family, praised the charges but said the incident was not an anomaly.
"We want to thank the [Georgia Bureau of Investigation] and Director Register for their swift and decisive action," he said in a statement. "But we also encourage them not to let their investigation end with these arrests. These three are just the tip of the iceberg."
That point was highlighted last week when members of Mr Hobbs’ family and supporters protested in front of the sheriff’s office to demand accountability for misconduct against him and others in their custody.
