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Security video from a Georgia jail has gone viral. The video shows 41-year-old Jarrett Hobbs being pushed against a wall by guards and repeatedly punched in the head and neck after five deputies come into the man's cell.
The video shows Hobbs alone in a cell, standing by the door, then turning toward the bed and picking up two objects. His attorney said they were a piece of paper and a sandwich. A guard rushes into the cell and grabs Hobbs around the neck, trying to push him into a corner. Four others come in behind him.
As jailers try to hold Hobbs by his wrists, one of them starts punching Hobbs in the back of the head and neck. The video shows at least two other guards throwing punches. A second video from a camera outside the cell shows jailers dragging Hobbs through the open door and hurling him against a wall. A deputy rapidly raises his right knee and foot a few times, though it's unclear if he was striking Hobbs. The struggle continues until Hobbs, out of the camera frame, appears pinned on the ground. The entire confrontation lasts about a minute.
Ironically Jail records show Hobbs was charged afterward with aggravated battery, simple assault, and obstruction of law enforcement officers.
There is no sound in the video released by Daniels. The attorney said he had a copy with audio, but he declined to share it.
An attorney for the detainee, 41-year-old Jarrett Hobbs, released the video Monday. Civil rights attorney Harry Daniels said authorities should pursue criminal charges against the sheriff's deputies in Camden County who swarmed Hobbs, who is Black, after he was booked for traffic violations and drug possession charges on Sept. 3.
“It’s undeniable that Mr. Hobbs was approached by jailers, and he was assaulted, punched multiple times in the back of his head, kneed in his head, and dragged out of his cell,” Daniels said. “This is a brutal beating, a brutal attack.”
Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor's office said in a statement Monday that the sheriff had reviewed the video with members of his command staff and ordered an internal investigation “to begin immediately.” The sheriff’s office did not release details about the jailers involved, including their races.
The confrontation between Hobbs and the jailers happened more than two months ago, and Hobbs was charged with fighting the deputies that same day. Daniels questioned why nothing happened sooner.
The sheriff's office released no details of what happened in Hobbs' cell. But federal court records in North Carolina, where Hobbs was on probation for a 2014 federal criminal conviction, say guards entered Hobbs' cell because he was repeatedly kicking his cell door and refusing orders to stop.