South Gwinnett News

Attorneys for a Georgia jail inmate are asking the Department of Justice to investigate after security cameras at the Camden County jail recorded him being beaten by guards after being booked into custody on Sept. 3, a recent report from FOX 5 Atlanta said.

Jarrett Hobbs, a 41-year-old Black man, was brought in on traffic violation and drug possession charges, the FOX 5 report said. That same night, security video footage showed Hobbs standing alone in his cell before five guards rushed in and surrounded him. At least three of the guards landed punches on him before dragging him from the cell and throwing him against a wall.

"There is no way in hell that anybody should be beaten the way this man was beaten," Harry Daniels, an attorney for the detainee, told reporters at a press conference and quoted by FOX 5. "I don’t care what he did. I don’t care if he knocked the damn door down. You don’t beat a person like that."

In other footage, Hobbs was seen being strapped into a restraining chair by guards after the incident and not being provided with any medical aid.

The report stated that the guards later claimed the confrontation took place after Hobbs began repeatedly kicking his cell and refusing all orders to stop. Records show that Hobbs was subsequently charged with aggravated battery, simple assault and obstruction of law enforcement officers.

Camden County Sheriff Jim Proctor, who oversees the jail and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, has announced that they are conducting separate investigations of the incident. But Hobbs’ attorneys are questioning why the sheriff did not investigate sooner, given the confrontation took place more than two months ago.