Video Shows Officers 'Mercilessly' Beat Black Man In Custody, Lawyer Says

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An attorney is calling for a criminal investigation after a video emerged of officers beating his client, a 41-year-old Black man from North Carolina, in a cell at a Georgia corrections facility.

Civil rights attorney Harry Daniels said in a news release that the footage shows his client, Jarrett Hobbs, being "mercilessly" beaten by officers at the Camden County, Detention Center back in September, CNN reports.

Hobbs was alone when five officers, four of whom appear to be white, entered his cell and began wrestling him, according to video obtained by CNN.

The video appears to show one officer grabbing Hobbs by the neck and others hitting him on the head.

A second video released by attorneys shows officers pulling the 41-year-old Black man out of the cell and wrestling him on the ground, with at least one officer kicking Hobbs.

The videos have no audio, and it's unclear what events led to the altercation.

Daniels told CNN that there is a third video captured from a different angle with audio, but that footage isn't being released at this time.

In a statement, the Camden County Sheriff’s Office said it had launched an internal investigation into the incident "from the time the inmate entered the facility on September 3rd, 2022 until his release on September 30th, 2022."

Daniels is calling for the district attorney to bring charges.

“This video is undeniable and the deputies’ actions are inexcusable,” he said in the 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...”

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