Photo: Aaron Lambert / Getty Images
Three Camden County, Georgia police officers were charged with assault and violating their oath Tuesday after a video explosive will reveal the brutal beating of an African-American inmate named Jarrett Hobbs.
Camden County Corporal Correction Officer Mason Garrick and Camden County Sheriffs Ryan Biegel and Braxton Massey were arrested and incarcerated at the same facility where used to work.
The legal representatives of the three men could not be immediately identified. immediately.
Last week three videos were released showing the brutal beating of Hobbs , 11 years old, by employees of the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.
In September, Hobbs was booked into jail, where he was placed in solitary confinement, after being arrested for speeding , driving with a suspended license and possession of a controlled substance, according to local news outlet CBS 675.
The first two videos released by Hobbs’ legal team showed five people entering a cell where he was sitting, grabbing him by the face and neck to start dealing blows before dragging him outside to continue.
Outside the cell, at least one man appeared to hit Hobbs while kicking him in the the ground.
Later, the legal team released audio showing screams of agony during the incident.
“I’ll break your fucking thumb if you don’t let me go!” a voice was heard yelling, attributed by Hobbs’ legal team to a sheriff’s deputy.
Prior to the arrest, Hobbs was interviewed while incarcerated in North Carolina as part of the investigation, authorities said .
At Tuesday’s press conference, Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Michael Register thanked Sheriff Jim Proctor and his department for their “full cooperation” in the investigation. But lawyers for Hobbs and his family reiterated their allegations that this was not an isolated incident.
“We want to thank the GBI and the Director Register for their swift and decisive action,” attorney Bakari Sellers said in a statement following the arrests. “But we also encourage you not to let your investigation end with these arrests. These three are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Last week, Hobbs’ sisters and supporters gathered outside the Sheriff’s Office to to demand justice not only for Hobbs, but also for others who they say have been victims of agency misconduct. Hobbs’ attorneys requested an investigation by the United States Department of Justice.
One lawsuit that is currently making its way through the courts is that of Adam Drummond, a man who alleges that his own severe beating by corrections officers at the same facility as Hobbs was covered up. A woman named Jennie Sikes, who says she was the officer who oversaw the initial investigation into that incident, also filed a whistleblower lawsuit. Neither Drummond nor Sikes could be reached for comment this week. A representative for the Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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