Anti Federalist
07-09-2011, 04:19 PM
In what the Public Defender is calling the "worst case of excessive force he's ever seen".
Of course, the victim is still cooling his heels in jail.
Video at site:
http://www.fox17.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wztv_vid_8424.shtml
Dashboard cameras are supposed to help protect police officers and sheriff's deputies from groundless complaints, but a graphic dash cam video obtained by FOX17 NEWS has some Humphreys County lawmen at the center of a TBI investigation. It was January 23 on the outskirts of Waverly when sheriff's deputies roll up to a house on Bearcat Lane. It started otu peacefully enough, with authorities questioning 35 year old Darrin Ring on the left and 2 other men who say they live next door to the home, but the peace was quickly shattered. 3 Humphreys County sheriff's deputies converge on Ring and take him down. You can hear them telling Ring to settle down before deputies repeatedly hit and kicked him.
"In the course of about 14 minutes they removed his clothing so he was laying naked in the snow," says District Public Defender Jake Lockert. "Cuffed his hands in front of him, pepper sprayed him, tazed him multiple times, beat him with steel asps and kicked him into the ribs until the point they punctured a lung."
The sheriff's deputies were eventually joined by 2 Waverly police officers who were backing them up. The Waverly officers have tazer guns. Lockert, a former state prosecutor, says it's the worst case of excessive force he's ever seen.
"Our client was in a no win situation," says Lockert. "If he obeys the officers' commands and tries to comply, he's kicked and beaten and tazed. If he doesn't move, he's hit and beaten and tazed."
Lockert says Darrin Ring was drunk but committed no crime. He says his client was charged with Assaulting an Officer and Resisting Arrest to cover up what he contends is the real crime. Jake Lockert will be in court July 20 asking for all charges against Darrin Ring to be dropped, and Ring is considering a civil lawsuit. The sheriff's department didn't comment Thursday. The officers involved remain on the job pending the TBI's investigation.
Of course, the victim is still cooling his heels in jail.
Video at site:
http://www.fox17.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wztv_vid_8424.shtml
Dashboard cameras are supposed to help protect police officers and sheriff's deputies from groundless complaints, but a graphic dash cam video obtained by FOX17 NEWS has some Humphreys County lawmen at the center of a TBI investigation. It was January 23 on the outskirts of Waverly when sheriff's deputies roll up to a house on Bearcat Lane. It started otu peacefully enough, with authorities questioning 35 year old Darrin Ring on the left and 2 other men who say they live next door to the home, but the peace was quickly shattered. 3 Humphreys County sheriff's deputies converge on Ring and take him down. You can hear them telling Ring to settle down before deputies repeatedly hit and kicked him.
"In the course of about 14 minutes they removed his clothing so he was laying naked in the snow," says District Public Defender Jake Lockert. "Cuffed his hands in front of him, pepper sprayed him, tazed him multiple times, beat him with steel asps and kicked him into the ribs until the point they punctured a lung."
The sheriff's deputies were eventually joined by 2 Waverly police officers who were backing them up. The Waverly officers have tazer guns. Lockert, a former state prosecutor, says it's the worst case of excessive force he's ever seen.
"Our client was in a no win situation," says Lockert. "If he obeys the officers' commands and tries to comply, he's kicked and beaten and tazed. If he doesn't move, he's hit and beaten and tazed."
Lockert says Darrin Ring was drunk but committed no crime. He says his client was charged with Assaulting an Officer and Resisting Arrest to cover up what he contends is the real crime. Jake Lockert will be in court July 20 asking for all charges against Darrin Ring to be dropped, and Ring is considering a civil lawsuit. The sheriff's department didn't comment Thursday. The officers involved remain on the job pending the TBI's investigation.