The release of several Coffee County Jail videos showing deputies using force on inmates is under investigation, according to the sheriff's office.
"The matters in the videos are under review by an independent agency, and we are fully cooperating with that process," the sheriff stated to 1819 News. "There will be no further comment while this review is pending."
The Secrets True Crime podcast released the videos. They show the use of force against inmates who do not appear to be provoking it. The videos do not have audio.
In the videos, corrections officers are using Tasers, restraint chairs and their own bodies against the inmates. The officers have not been charged with a crime. It is unclear how the videos were leaked.
Amber Sitton, with Secrets True Crime, told 1819 News she has communicated with two of the four inmates captured in the jail surveillance video. She said one was a college student and the other was a former U.S. Army combat medic, who was already in a cast when he was placed in jail. Sitton said she supports law enforcement and also believes those who take an oath to protect and serve should do just that.
"The public has a right to see what happens inside jails and prisons," Sitton said. "For too long, what happens behind those walls has escaped scrutiny because the public was told to simply trust those in charge. Honest law enforcement welcomes transparency because it protects the innocent and exposes wrongdoing."
The sheriff's office did not name the independent agency that is reviewing the videos.
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