A South Carolina Sheriff’s deputy has been fired and is being investigated for possible civil rights violations after he was caught on video beating a handcuffed man with a baton, according to authorities.
Sgt. Oddie Tribble was fired for an incident that took place on August 5, where surveillance video shows him hitting inmate Charles Shelly 27 times with a baton breaking Shelley’s leg, authorities said on Monday.
The video shows the deputy escorting the handcuffed man from a transport van toward the jail, at which point the deputy pulls out his baton beating the helpless man until he falls to the ground.
At least two other officers can be seen on tape looking on as the beating occurs.
Neither tries to interfere.
At one point the deputy helps the man up only to smash his face into the hood of the van, as seen on the video.
Tribble told his supervisors that Shelley threatened him and his family’s lives on the ride to the jail.
The sergeant also reported that Shelley jerked away from him twice, before he used force to get control of the inmate.
The inmate cannot be seen jerking away from the officer on the video.
The FBI and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are currently investigating the case.
