Officer ordered handcuffed inmate’s beating, laughed as it happened in Georgia, feds say

Four former correctional officers are going to prison after one ordered two subordinates to beat a “handcuffed and compliant” inmate and laughed while watching the assault, federal prosecutors say.

At the time, a fourth officer, who was also present and laughing during the inmate’s beating, directed the three others to keep quiet about the incident at Valdosta State Prison, according to court documents. This officer knew he should have written an “unlawful use of force” report, but did not, prosecutors say.

A judge issued all four men varying sentences in connection with their roles in the beating and the subsequent “cover-up,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia.

In regards to the two supervising officers who laughed during the beating, Sgt. Patrick Sharpe, 30, was sentenced to four years in federal prison and Lt. Geary Staten, 31, was sentenced to a year and two months in prison, a Sept. 21 news release from the attorney’s office says.

Sharpe, who ordered the beating of the inmate, was also sentenced in connection with his beating of another inmate in a separate incident, according to the attorney’s office.

As for the two deputy correctional officers who carried out the assault, Jamal Scott, 35, was sentenced to a year in prison and Brian Ford, 25, was sentenced to a year and one day in prison, the release says.

“These officers’ efforts to organize, execute, and then cover up a retaliatory assault on a handcuffed, compliant inmate are an egregious abuse of power,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement.

McClatchy News contacted the four men’s attorneys for comment on Sept. 22 and was awaiting a response.

Tina Hunt, an attorney representing former deputy correctional officer Scott, told McClatchy News in a phone interview that she “did not feel that there was parity in the sentencing.”

“I did not feel the people who were directly involved in perpetuating the culture of violence at the prison were appropriately punished,” Hunt added. “The (Department of Justice) dropped the ball on this one.”

The case involving the officers dates to Dec. 29, 2018, when Sharpe ordered Ford and Scott to beat a handcuffed inmate involved with an altercation with a female prison officer, according to prosecutors. As a result, the inmate was taken to an outdoor area within the prison grounds.

Before the violence ensued, Sharpe told Staten: “Don’t worry, we’re going to get him,” in regards to his plan to punish the inmate for his altercation with the female officer, court documents state.

Sharpe instructed Scott and Ford to avoid hitting the inmate in the head so that his injuries “would not be visible, in order to avoid any investigation into the events,” court documents state.

As a result, Scott knocked the inmate to the ground, and both he and Ford pounded the inmate with their fists as the man screamed with his hands bound by handcuffs, according to prosecutors. Staten is accused of standing by and watching with Sharpe.

Afterward, “Staten expressly directed the involved officers not to write any report regarding the unlawful use of force, and failed to write such a report himself, despite knowing such a report was required,” the release says.

Prosecutors say the government acknowledged Scott and Ford’s help during the federal investigation into the assault and took responsibility for their actions, according to the release. As a result, the government requested the pair receive lesser sentences.

Hunt, Scott’s attorney, told McClatchy News that the Department of Corrections “puts everyone in jeopardy, officers and inmates, when they fail to properly staff and train their employees.”

Sharpe received the lengthiest sentence of 48 months because he was also sentenced in relation to a different inmate’s beating, prosecutors say.

On Sept. 24, 2018, Sharpe retaliated against another inmate for an altercation involving a different female officer, according to the release.

He did so by placing handcuffs around his fists and punching the inmate in the face and head, prosecutors say. This caused the inmate to become briefly unconscious, and left cuts all over his face and head.

“When sworn officers do violence against inmates, they damage society’s trust in law enforcement and tarnish the reputation of the many worthy individuals who accept the dangerous responsibility of policing our prisons,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said in a statement.

Valdosta is about 230 miles south of Atlanta.

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