Video released by the Richmond County Sheriff shows two deputies, unprovoked, pounding on an inmate, fists and knees flying in a Feb. 23 incident that led to their arrest and termination.
The deputies, Gerardo Sanchez Jr. and Joshua Jackson, were taken into custody Tuesday for simple battery and violating their oath of office.
The pair bring to 14 the number of sheriff’s deputies arrested since January 2022, including eight for the excessive use of force, Sheriff Richard Roundtree said.
Roundtree said he’s directed senior leadership to “identify any gaps in training or culture that may have contributed to this many incidents” at a Wednesday news conference. The department has approximately 700 personnel.
“We’ve also consulted with our in-house counselor to see if we can identify any warning signs that may have been missed, or that we could look at to identify if a deputy may be in crisis or going through personal issues,” he said.
“We do have a problem,” Roundtree said. “That tells me we need to go back and look at something that we’re missing. This is a wake-up call for us.”
The deputies were responding to a call for emergency medical assistance from an inmate who “had a history of faking medical calls,” Roundtree said. The deputies found him on the floor and were carrying him through an open area when the incident took place.
“They were carrying this individual. He was not actively resisting in any way, and for some reason they decided to stop and physically assault this individual. It was totally unprovoked,” he said.
The video has no sound. “Whether he was making derogatory comments or not, that’s to be disputed, but that is not enough to lay hands on him as you saw in the video,” Roundtree said.
The incident was a criminal use of force, the sheriff said. It differs from when a deputy, attempting to subdue a suspect, might “stay in the moment too long,” which would be a policy violation, he said.
Roundtree said the incident shows more reinforcement of training is needed. It also highlights the “duty to intervene” when a fellow deputy appears to be losing control, he said.
“We’ve seen so many times where if a deputy saw another deputy losing control, if they could have stepped in and intervened, that probably could have saved that deputy’s career,” he said.
The 18-year-old victim had only superficial injuries and reported the attack at a kiosk at the Charles B. Webster Detention Center, he said.
Roundtree said residents with complaints about deputies need to contact the sheriff’s office directly. “We don’t scour social media for complaints. They have to make complaints,” he said. “You will see a disposition if you file a complaint.”
The victim was sentenced to 20 years in prison for armed robbery in a November plea deal. He had been named in an 18-count indictment that included seven counts of armed robbery and four counts of possessing a gun before age 18.
