The FBI has been called in to investigate a reported case of police brutality in Pike County.
The probe stems of a corrections officer punching and pepper spraying a restrained inmate. The Guardian has obtained video of the incident from security cameras within the jail.
The incident happened at around 6 a.m. on November 18 at the Pike County Sheriff’s Office.
In the video, deputy Jeremy Mooney is seen attacking Thomas Friend, 27. Friend had been booked into the jail for misdemeanor disorderly conduct.
According to interim Sheriff Jim Nelson, Friend was spitting on other inmates in the transport van and things escalated from there. He was placed in a restraint chair due to his behavior.
In the video, you can see Friend is wheeled outside of the jail onto the sidewalk and pepper sprayed by Mooney directly in the face while restrained. Friend became agitated and used his feet to get away from the deputy, and fell backwards onto the pavement while still in the restraint chair.
Deputies picked Friend up and took him inside, still in the chair. During that time, Mooney punched Friend 11 times in the face. While punching Friend, the deputy broke his own hand.
When it was brought to the attention of the interim Sheriff, Mooney resigned. Another deputy, Sergeant Bill Stansberry, who was present during the attacks and did not intervene, was suspended for two weeks and demoted to corporal.
Stanberrys’s name might sound familiar to Guardian readers. He is one of a few deputies suspended Sheriff Charles S. Reader is accused of borrowing money from. Stansberry has been working with state prosecutors in a case that brought 16 indictments against Reader. Reader was suspended in July by the Supreme Court of Ohio and Nelson was tapped as Sheriff.
Prosecutor Rob Junk has asked the FBI to investigate for federal charges. The FBI would not comment on Monday if they were investigating.
