The Columbia County Sheriff’s Office plans to release seven hours – yes, seven HOURS – of video showing the interaction between pre-school teacher June Barrow and 2-year-old Hatcher Brooks at the St. Teresa Avila Catholic Church’s preschool program.
That’s because they don’t want criticism that they are hiding any part of the surveillance video.
When will it be released?
“We hope in the very near future,” sheriff’s Maj. Steve Morris said Wednesday.
MORE: Accusations Fly at Blythe City Council Meeting
The delay is due to the grueling process of blurring out the faces or other children and teachers, a process the agency is paying a third-party vendor to accomplish, Maj. Morris said. It’s a frame-by-frame process.
MORE: Teacher Won’t Face Charges After Review of Video at Grovetown Church
MORE: Five Lingering Questions in Case of Pre-School Mom Kasey Brooks
MORE: St. Teresa’s Issues Statement on Attack of Its Preschool Teacher
The child’s mother, Kasey Brooks, was charged Sept. 1 with battery on the Barrow. The story went viral when the parent defended her actions by saying she had just watched video of the teacher mishandling Hatcher, who is nonverbal.
The sheriff’s office reviewed the video and filed no charges against Barrow. Still, the mother collected nearly $40,000 in GoFundMe donations for legal fees, which she may need for criminal and civil actions against her.
Greg Rickabaugh is the Jail Report Contributor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at greg.rickabaugh@theaugustapress.com.
