Deputies suspended after video shows them repeatedly punching bar patron
Sheriff Stitch Guillory said the deputies responded to multiple calls at the bar during the early morning hours of June 21 regarding fights in the parking lot.
While attempting to disperse a crowd of people 'loitering in the parking lot,' the deputies 'encountered a man who was told multiple times to leave the property,' Guillory said in a Facebook posting Friday afternoon.
Patrons of the bar who remained in the parking lot during the encounter recorded video of the incident that shows one deputy sitting on the man as he lies on his side in the parking lot. Two other deputies are crouched on either side of the man. At one point, all three appear to punch the man multiple times as a patron screams out, 'police brutality.'
Two other deputies and a member of the bar's security team stand in front and on the side of the man as the punching continues.
Guillory said the incident 'occurred as deputies attempted to take him into custody.'
'This incident was forwarded to our Internal Affairs Division earlier this week, prior to the video being released on social media, for a full investigation,' Guillory said. 'Internal Affairs is reviewing the totality of the situation to ensure our deputies acted appropriately and in accordance with CPSO policies and procedures.'
Guillory said two of the deputies have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
'Being placed on leave does not imply wrongdoing,' Guillory said. 'If the investigation determines any policy violations or wrongdoing occurred, appropriate action will be taken.'
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