Charges dropped for man beaten by cops in Georgia jail cell
A North Carolina man who was ruthlessly beaten inside a Georgia jail cell is no longer facing criminal charges.
Jarrett Hobbs, a 41-year-old Black man, had been facing 13 charges in Camden County, according to local news station WJXT.
Hobbs was detained Sept. 3, 2022 in the south Georgia county and accused of three drug and traffic crimes.
While Hobbs was held at the local jail, four Camden County sheriff’s deputies rushed into his cell and beat him. The officers grabbed Hobbs’ head, punched him in the face, held him down and slammed him against a wall.
After the attack, authorities claimed Hobbs started the fight and charged him with 10 more crimes, including aggravated battery, simple assault and obstruction of law enforcement officers.
However, the beating was captured on the cell’s surveillance camera, footage that was released in November. The video led to arrests and assault charges for three officers: Mason Garrick, Braxton Massey and Ryan Biegel.
“When the video came out, it was abundantly clear that Mr. Hobbs was not the aggressor,” Harry Daniels, a civil rights attorney representing Hobbs, said Thursday. He added that Hobbs reached a “significant monetary settlement” with Camden County.
The beating was only exposed because federal authorities started investigating Hobbs for a potential parole violation tied to a 2014 case. Hobbs’ federal defense attorney obtained the video.
With News Wire Services
