Latest news with #HarryDaniels
The Independent
5 days ago
- The Independent
A former Georgia deputy gets federal prison for beating a Black man in a jail cell
A former Georgia sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for repeatedly punching a Black detainee whose beating by guards was recorded by a jail security camera nearly three years ago. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced 27-year-old Ryan Biegel on Thursday. The former Camden County deputy had pleaded guilty earlier this year to violating the due process rights of Jarrett Hobbs by using unreasonable force. Hobbs of Greensboro, North Carolina, was booked into the Camden County jail near the Georgia- Florida line for traffic violations and drug possession charges on Sept. 3, 2022. Security video from that night showed Hobbs standing alone in his cell before five guards rushed in and surrounded him. At least three deputies were shown punching him in the head and neck before Hobbs was dragged from the cell and hurled against a wall. Hobbs' attorneys, Harry Daniels and Bakari Sellers, said in a statement Friday that jailers 'beat him mercilessly' with false confidence they would never be prosecuted. 'Let this sentence serve as some solace to everyone who has been terrorized by violence masquerading as law and order and a warning to their brutalizers,' the lawyers' statement said. 'Your badge will not protect you any more than it protected Ryan Biegel.' Biegel's defense attorney, Adrienne Browning, said she had no immediate comment. Biegel and two other deputies, all of them white, were fired and arrested in connection with the assault on Hobbs, but not until more than two months later when one of Hobbs' attorneys obtained the video and made it public. All three still face state charges of battery and violating their oaths of office, according to Camden County Superior Court records. U.S. District Court records show federal charges being brought only against Biegel. It was Hobbs who was initially charged after being attacked in his cell. Prosecutors later dismissed charges of aggravated battery, simple assault and obstruction of law enforcement officers against Hobbs, citing a lack of evidence. Also dropped were the traffic violation and drug charges that had landed Hobbs in jail. Camden County officials paid Hobbs a cash settlement to avoid a civil lawsuit, but the amount was not disclosed.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
A former Georgia deputy gets federal prison for beating a Black man in a jail cell
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A former Georgia sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for repeatedly punching a Black detainee whose beating by guards was recorded by a jail security camera nearly three years ago. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced 27-year-old Ryan Biegel on Thursday. The former Camden County deputy had pleaded guilty earlier this year to violating the due process rights of Jarrett Hobbs by using unreasonable force. Hobbs of Greensboro, North Carolina, was booked into the Camden County jail near the Georgia-Florida line for traffic violations and drug possession charges on Sept. 3, 2022. Security video from that night showed Hobbs standing alone in his cell before five guards rushed in and surrounded him. At least three deputies were shown punching him in the head and neck before Hobbs was dragged from the cell and hurled against a wall. Hobbs' attorneys, Harry Daniels and Bakari Sellers, said in a statement Friday that jailers 'beat him mercilessly' with false confidence they would never be prosecuted. 'Let this sentence serve as some solace to everyone who has been terrorized by violence masquerading as law and order and a warning to their brutalizers,' the lawyers' statement said. 'Your badge will not protect you any more than it protected Ryan Biegel.' Biegel's defense attorney, Adrienne Browning, said she had no immediate comment. Biegel and two other deputies, all of them white, were fired and arrested in connection with the assault on Hobbs, but not until more than two months later when one of Hobbs' attorneys obtained the video and made it public. All three still face state charges of battery and violating their oaths of office, according to Camden County Superior Court records. U.S. District Court records show federal charges being brought only against Biegel. It was Hobbs who was initially charged after being attacked in his cell. Prosecutors later dismissed charges of aggravated battery, simple assault and obstruction of law enforcement officers against Hobbs, citing a lack of evidence. Also dropped were the traffic violation and drug charges that had landed Hobbs in jail. Camden County officials paid Hobbs a cash settlement to avoid a civil lawsuit, but the amount was not disclosed.
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Associated Press
A former Georgia deputy gets federal prison for beating a Black man in a jail cell
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — A former Georgia sheriff's deputy has been sentenced to 16 months in federal prison for repeatedly punching a Black detainee whose beating by guards was recorded by a jail security camera nearly three years ago. A U.S. District Court judge sentenced 27-year-old Ryan Biegel on Thursday. The former Camden County deputy had pleaded guilty earlier this year to violating the due process rights of Jarrett Hobbs by using unreasonable force. Hobbs of Greensboro, North Carolina, was booked into the Camden County jail near the Georgia-Florida line for traffic violations and drug possession charges on Sept. 3, 2022. Security video from that night showed Hobbs standing alone in his cell before five guards rushed in and surrounded him. At least three deputies were shown punching him in the head and neck before Hobbs was dragged from the cell and hurled against a wall. Hobbs' attorneys, Harry Daniels and Bakari Sellers, said in a statement Friday that jailers 'beat him mercilessly' with false confidence they would never be prosecuted. 'Let this sentence serve as some solace to everyone who has been terrorized by violence masquerading as law and order and a warning to their brutalizers,' the lawyers' statement said. 'Your badge will not protect you any more than it protected Ryan Biegel.' Biegel's defense attorney, Adrienne Browning, said she had no immediate comment. Biegel and two other deputies, all of them white, were fired and arrested in connection with the assault on Hobbs, but not until more than two months later when one of Hobbs' attorneys obtained the video and made it public. All three still face state charges of battery and violating their oaths of office, according to Camden County Superior Court records. U.S. District Court records show federal charges being brought only against Biegel. It was Hobbs who was initially charged after being attacked in his cell. Prosecutors later dismissed charges of aggravated battery, simple assault and obstruction of law enforcement officers against Hobbs, citing a lack of evidence. Also dropped were the traffic violation and drug charges that had landed Hobbs in jail. Camden County officials paid Hobbs a cash settlement to avoid a civil lawsuit, but the amount was not disclosed.
CNN
23-07-2025
- CNN
Florida police under fire as video of Black man punched, dragged by deputies during traffic stop goes viral
A cell phone video showing a white Jacksonville, Florida, police officer striking a Black man in the face during a February traffic stop before he's dragged from his car has gone viral, sparked outrage and led to conflicting accounts of the incident from civil rights lawyers and law enforcement. William McNeil Jr.'s lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels say the video, which McNeil took from inside his car, is a clear depiction of brutality, coming as law enforcement officials – from masked ICE agents to local police officers – have been scrutinized for their use of force, particularly against people of color. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office argued the viral video doesn't show the full context of the situation. 'Yes, there absolutely was force used by the arresting officers, and yes, that force is ugly,' Sheriff TK Waters said Monday at a news conference. 'Just because force is ugly does not mean it's unlawful or contrary to policy.' He said he wouldn't stay silent while 'facts and information are buried to advance an anti-police agenda.' Here's what we know: New police bodycam video released Monday shows McNeil, 22, opening his car door to speak to an officer, who tells him he was pulled over for driving without his headlights or seatbelt on. 'It's daylight, I don't need the lights. And it's not weather – it's not raining,' McNeil says in the video. McNeil asked the officer to call his supervisor, refused to give him his license, and closed his door. He locked it as the officer asked him to step out of the vehicle, bodycam video shows. 'Open the door and exit, or we are going to break the window,' the officer says as another patrol car pulls up in front of McNeil's vehicle. McNeil was warned seven times that he was under arrest and needed to open his door, Waters said. The video from inside McNeil's car begins with him sitting in the driver's seat, talking to another officer through the passenger side window. He asks the officer to show him the law stating that he must have his headlights on. One officer then says he's going ahead with breaking the window, according to body camera footage. 'All right, go for it,' a second police officer is heard saying. Seconds later, the driver's window is smashed in, McNeil is punched in the face, and officers open the door and pull him to the ground next to his car, striking his face again, McNeil's video shows. McNeil's lawyers say he sustained a tooth fracture, concussion and a traumatic brain injury. He also had cognitive impairment and short-term memory deficits after the traffic stop, they added. The body camera footage released Monday didn't show the initial strike between the arresting officer and McNeil, Waters admitted. McNeil was arrested following the incident on February 19 and charged with resisting a police officer without violence, driving on a suspended license and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, Waters said. The next day, he pleaded guilty to the resisting and suspended license charges. D. Bowers, the arresting officer who pulled McNeil over, made no mention of McNeil being punched in his police report. He wrote that the suspect, McNeil, refused to comply, which led him to break the window to open the driver's door. 'Physical force was applied to the suspect and he was taken to the ground,' Bowers continued. A second officer, however, described in a separate report six punches to McNeil's leg before he stopped resisting, according to the Associated Press. 'He simply asks for a supervisor and then they break his window and beat him yet, somehow, the report failed to mention that,' McNeil's lawyers said in a statement. Bowers' report also claimed McNeil was 'reaching for the floorboard of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting,' as he was removed from the car. Deputies found a knife while they searched McNeil's vehicle after taking him into custody, according to police reports. Crump and Daniels said Bowers' report that McNeil reached toward the knife was a 'fabrication,' according to the AP. 'The only time he moves at all is when the officer knocks him over by punching him in his face,' they said. 'Then this young man calmly sits back straight and holds his empty hands up.' When asked Monday about what he saw in the footage, Waters, the sheriff, said he couldn't see where McNeil's hands were. Waters said McNeil hadn't filed a complaint or shared his video with the department before it was released on social media. Had he done so, he said, the department would have started an investigation. The sheriff said the cell phone footage showed there were aspects of the arrest the department needed to investigate, but said he assumed the video was 'intended to inflame the public.' 'The context of this video should tell you everything you need to know,' he said. A criminal investigation at the sheriff's office began Sunday, as soon as it became aware of the viral footage, Waters said, adding the State Attorney's Office determined Monday no officers involved in the arrest violated any criminal laws. An administrative review over whether the deputies violated department policies is also ongoing, Waters said. The arresting officer has been 'stripped of his law enforcement authority' pending the outcome of the administrative review, according to the sheriff. McNeil's attorney Daniels said he was disgusted but not surprised by the actions of the officers. 'The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has a long history of this kind of needless violence and brutality,' Daniels said in a press release. 'It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn't a threat to anyone,' Crump added. 'He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights, and they beat him for it.' CNN's Jillian Sykes, Isabel Rosales, Meridith Edwards, Devon Sayers, and Jason Morris contributed to this report.
CNN
23-07-2025
- CNN
Florida police under fire as video of Black man punched, dragged by deputies during traffic stop goes viral
A cell phone video showing a white Jacksonville, Florida, police officer striking a Black man in the face during a February traffic stop before he's dragged from his car has gone viral, sparked outrage and led to conflicting accounts of the incident from civil rights lawyers and law enforcement. William McNeil Jr.'s lawyers Ben Crump and Harry Daniels say the video, which McNeil took from inside his car, is a clear depiction of brutality, coming as law enforcement officials – from masked ICE agents to local police officers – have been scrutinized for their use of force, particularly against people of color. The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office argued the viral video doesn't show the full context of the situation. 'Yes, there absolutely was force used by the arresting officers, and yes, that force is ugly,' Sheriff TK Waters said Monday at a news conference. 'Just because force is ugly does not mean it's unlawful or contrary to policy.' He said he wouldn't stay silent while 'facts and information are buried to advance an anti-police agenda.' Here's what we know: New police bodycam video released Monday shows McNeil, 22, opening his car door to speak to an officer, who tells him he was pulled over for driving without his headlights or seatbelt on. 'It's daylight, I don't need the lights. And it's not weather – it's not raining,' McNeil says in the video. McNeil asked the officer to call his supervisor, refused to give him his license, and closed his door. He locked it as the officer asked him to step out of the vehicle, bodycam video shows. 'Open the door and exit, or we are going to break the window,' the officer says as another patrol car pulls up in front of McNeil's vehicle. McNeil was warned seven times that he was under arrest and needed to open his door, Waters said. The video from inside McNeil's car begins with him sitting in the driver's seat, talking to another officer through the passenger side window. He asks the officer to show him the law stating that he must have his headlights on. One officer then says he's going ahead with breaking the window, according to body camera footage. 'All right, go for it,' a second police officer is heard saying. Seconds later, the driver's window is smashed in, McNeil is punched in the face, and officers open the door and pull him to the ground next to his car, striking his face again, McNeil's video shows. McNeil's lawyers say he sustained a tooth fracture, concussion and a traumatic brain injury. He also had cognitive impairment and short-term memory deficits after the traffic stop, they added. The body camera footage released Monday didn't show the initial strike between the arresting officer and McNeil, Waters admitted. McNeil was arrested following the incident on February 19 and charged with resisting a police officer without violence, driving on a suspended license and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana, Waters said. The next day, he pleaded guilty to the resisting and suspended license charges. D. Bowers, the arresting officer who pulled McNeil over, made no mention of McNeil being punched in his police report. He wrote that the suspect, McNeil, refused to comply, which led him to break the window to open the driver's door. 'Physical force was applied to the suspect and he was taken to the ground,' Bowers continued. A second officer, however, described in a separate report six punches to McNeil's leg before he stopped resisting, according to the Associated Press. 'He simply asks for a supervisor and then they break his window and beat him yet, somehow, the report failed to mention that,' McNeil's lawyers said in a statement. Bowers' report also claimed McNeil was 'reaching for the floorboard of the vehicle where a large knife was sitting,' as he was removed from the car. Deputies found a knife while they searched McNeil's vehicle after taking him into custody, according to police reports. Crump and Daniels said Bowers' report that McNeil reached toward the knife was a 'fabrication,' according to the AP. 'The only time he moves at all is when the officer knocks him over by punching him in his face,' they said. 'Then this young man calmly sits back straight and holds his empty hands up.' When asked Monday about what he saw in the footage, Waters, the sheriff, said he couldn't see where McNeil's hands were. Waters said McNeil hadn't filed a complaint or shared his video with the department before it was released on social media. Had he done so, he said, the department would have started an investigation. The sheriff said the cell phone footage showed there were aspects of the arrest the department needed to investigate, but said he assumed the video was 'intended to inflame the public.' 'The context of this video should tell you everything you need to know,' he said. A criminal investigation at the sheriff's office began Sunday, as soon as it became aware of the viral footage, Waters said, adding the State Attorney's Office determined Monday no officers involved in the arrest violated any criminal laws. An administrative review over whether the deputies violated department policies is also ongoing, Waters said. The arresting officer has been 'stripped of his law enforcement authority' pending the outcome of the administrative review, according to the sheriff. McNeil's attorney Daniels said he was disgusted but not surprised by the actions of the officers. 'The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office has a long history of this kind of needless violence and brutality,' Daniels said in a press release. 'It should be obvious to anyone watching this video that William McNeil wasn't a threat to anyone,' Crump added. 'He was calmly exercising his constitutional rights, and they beat him for it.' CNN's Jillian Sykes, Isabel Rosales, Meridith Edwards, Devon Sayers, and Jason Morris contributed to this report.
