Three former Georgia sheriff’s deputies have been arrested and charged for their role in an alleged beating of a Black inmate in September, according to authorities.
According to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Michael Register, Mason Garrick, 23, Braxton Massey, 21, and Ryan Biegel, 24, have all been taken into custody.
The three men accused of carrying out the attack were charged with battery and violating the oath of office, according to Register.
The attack, caught on surveillance video, has been called shocking, and Register shared during a press conference that the three men broke the trust that comes with their office.
"There is a sacred and fragile trust that exists between law enforcement and the communities that we serve," Register said. "This trust must be protected and preserved."
After viewing the attack, Register said that “as a citizen, my reaction is like anyone else. It shocked the conscience.”
“When you look at the initial actions that transpired, I think our investigation thus far, and the district attorney felt, that it was probable cause to make an arrest on three of the individuals for battery and violation of oath of office,” Register said.
The former deputies have been booked into the Camden County Public Safety complex, according to online records.
Attorneys for the man who was assaulted in the attack, 41-year-old Jarrett Hobbs, released several videos showing the attack taking place on Sept. 3.
The videos show Hobbs appearing to be punched by deputies, dragged from his cell, and slammed against a wall where he was repeatedly kicked. The attack also resulted in one of Hobbs's dreadlocks being ripped off.
Reports say that Hobbs had struck one of the officers, however, that is not visible in any of the videos released.
At the time, Hobbs was jailed for traffic offenses and possessing a controlled substance at the Camden County Jail in Woodbine. His attorney, Harry Daniels, shared that at the time of the assault, Hobbs was suffering a “psychological episode.”
Daniels also noted that he had been asked to be moved to protective confinement but was denied.
"But instead of protecting him, these deputies jumped him and beat and kicked him mercilessly like a gang of dangerous thugs," Daniels said last week, NBC News reported.
Daniels said after the arrests that it was a “step toward justice,” but he and his client are seeking “convictions and imprisonment.”
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