Georgia sheriff investigating corrections officers seen punching inmate on security video

CAMDEN COUNTY, Ga. — The Camden County Sheriff’s Office is conducting an internal investigation after video was released on social media that shows a man being beaten by corrections officers in the Camden County Jail in Woodbine.

According to CCSO, the investigation “will include all recorded video from the time the inmate entered the facility on September 3rd, 2022 until his release on September 30th, 2022.”

Channel 2′s Bryan Mims spoke with Jarrett Hobbs’ attorney, Harry Daniels, who is calling for criminal charges.

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According to Camden County Jail records, 41-year-old Hobbs from Greensboro, North Carolina, had been arrested for speeding, driving with a suspended/revoked license and possession of a controlled substance on Sept. 3.

Daniels said Hobbs was charged with assault after he was beaten by the officers.

Daniels’ office released two surveillance videos, which do not have sound, from inside the jail. The first video shows Hobbs in a small cell, picking up a small object and what appears to be a sandwich off a bench when several officers come rushing in. The first guard puts a hand on Hobbs’ neck.

Other guards come in to help restrain him, and another guard comes in and starts punching Hobbs on the top of his head.

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Another video from another angle shows a corrections officer unlock the door, then several guards enter the cell.

After about 35 seconds, the guards can be seen pulling Hobbs into the hallway and at least two guards can be seen striking Hobbs’ body with their knees. Daniels’ office claims that one of Hobbs’ dreadlocks was ripped from his head during the incident.

Daniels says the officers ripped one of Hobbs’s dreadlocks from his head.

“This video is undeniable and the deputies’ actions are inexcusable,” Daniels said in a news release. “Mr. Hobbs entered the Camden County Jail suffering a psychological episode and asking to be placed in protective confinement. But instead of protecting him, these deputies jumped him and beat and kicked him mercilessly like a gang of dangerous thugs.”

Daniels said, “He’s already (a) vulnerable and fragile inmate based on his mental status, then to compound that with a brutal beating, it’s horrible.”

The attorney says the officers’ claimed Hobbs was using profanity and kicking on the door.

“Regardless of whether he was using profanity and beating on the door, you still don’t beat a man. That may have prompted them to enter the cell, but that did not prompt them to beat the hell out of him,” said Daniels.

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The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is investigating.

Mims called the Camden County Sheriff’s Office for a response.

CCSO released the following statement on the investigation:

“A video published on social media is a portion of an incident that occurred at The Camden County Sheriff’s Office Jail has the public questioning the actions of the correction officers. Sheriff Jim Proctor, and members of the Command Staff, have reviewed the video. Sheriff Proctor has ordered an internal investigation of the incident to begin immediately. This investigation will include all recorded video from the time the inmate entered the facility on September 3rd, 2022 until his release on September 30th, 2022. If deemed necessary an additional agency will assist with the investigation.

“Internal investigations involve reviewing of videos, questioning of witnesses, and documentation of evidence recovered which takes time, and not completed overnight. The Camden County Sheriff’s Office has always been an agency that is transparent allowing the public access to all operations of each division. During the investigation, names of all people involved will be confidential until the conclusion of the inquiry.”

Daniels plans a news conference and rally tomorrow afternoon with the NAACP in front of the Camden County Sheriff’s Office.

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