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JAIL NIGHTMARE

Inmates describe hideous beating; Suspect allegedly was kicked, punched, shocked with Taser and head-slammed on concrete floor

By ROBIN FITZGERALD
rfitzgerald@sunherald.com

GULFPORT --

Watson was in a holding cell, he said, when a female police officer radioed the booking room to report she was bringing in "a live wire," apparently meaning an angry detainee.

Watson said the large, unidentified male jailer --- the one who later allegedly beat Williams --- put on a pair of black leather gloves before police officers brought Williams in to the booking room.

McBee recalled that jailers ordered detainees who were not in a holding cell, including himself and Williams, to stand against a wall.

Williams stepped a foot away from the wall and the large male jailer allegedly "slammed" him back against the wall, Crosby said, comparing witness statements that indicate a female deputy also slammed Williams against the wall after Williams stepped forward a second time.

It was at that point, witnesses said, that Williams asked that his handcuffs be removed so they could go "one-on-one." The large male jailer, according to witnesses, agreed to go one-on-one after his paperwork was finished.

The cuffs were removed, they claimed, emphasizing that Williams complied with orders to remove his shoes and put them on the booking desk. Williams bent down to remove his left shoe, and the jailer allegedly kicked Williams in the chest.

Williams was bending down to remove his right shoe, said McBee, when the large jailer slapped him in the head. "(Williams) charged at the jailer like a linebacker playing football," McBee recalled.

Seven or eight officers who were in the room tried to help subdue Williams, witnesses said, and the large jailer began punching Williams, with the female jailer also allegedly throwing punches.

The first shot with the Taser was all it took to subdue Williams, according to McBee and others.

"I could see him firing it several seconds. I saw blue sparks. (The jailer) jammed it into his back again and held it there. He wasn't moving at all, then."

At this point, Williams was again handcuffed, witnesses said.

McBee recalled seeing blood run from Williams' mouth and an officer saying, " 'that's crack-head spit." Williams was pepper-sprayed and a bag was placed over his head and tightened around his neck, Watson said, confirming McBee's description.

Several witnesses, said Crosby, also have described the next scenario: the large jailer pressed one knee against Williams' neck and head and pressed his other knee against Williams' back and head, "pounding" his head against the concrete floor.

They claim that Williams, cuffed at hands and feet, with bag over his head, then was rolled up in a restraining blanket.

"The deputy picked him up like a suitcase and carried him to the restraining chair," McBee said. "He threw him down twice on the way. The right side of his head hit the concrete floor."

McBee didn't recall anyone trying to stop the large jailer.

The restraining chair was pushed into another area, said McBee, who recalled hearing "hitting" sounds before the restraining chair was returned to the booking area, with Williams lifeless and unresponsive.

"I thought he was dead then," McBee said. "A nurse came and tried to clean him up before the ambulance got there. She seemed real upset."

The inmate telephone system for collect calls to the outside was turned off for several days, according to Crosby and several witnesses who were in jail.

Crosby said five cameras in the booking area filmed the incident. He has subpoenaed copies of the tapes, but had not received them as of Monday.

According to the MBI, the case will be turned over to the District Attorney's Office for presentation to a grand jury. The DA's Office has not received the case file, a spokesman said.