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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 --

Jessie Lee Williams' face and voice haunt Paul McBee.

Nightmares, he said, have plagued him since the night of Feb. 4 when he watched from the Harrison County jail booking room as a deputy allegedly antagonized and assaulted Williams. A brawl erupted and, according to McBee, several officers became involved, but most backed off as a Taser (an electro-shock stun gun) subdued Williams.

Most, that is, except for the jailer who, according to McBee and other witnesses, instigated the fight. McBee described the jailer as a young, large white man with a green shamrock pin on his ballcap.

That jailer, according to McBee and other witnesses, continued to punch the slender Williams as multiple restraint devices were used:

• Repeated electro-shocks, the Taser held to his back.

• "Hog-tied" with handcuffs.

• A "spit" bag placed over his head with pepper spray spewed inside.

• A restraining blanket.

• A restraint chair with straps, also designed to immobilize.

"I wake up from nightmares hearing and seeing it," McBee said. "I hear him screaming. I hear him saying 'I quit... please stop' over and over."

Both men were at the jail on unrelated misdemeanor charges. McBee's arrest was on a first-offense drunken-driving charge. Williams was charged with misdemeanors of pointing and aiming a gun, simple assault on a minor and public drunkenness.

Later that night, Williams was taken from the jail to Memorial Hospital at Gulfport. Harrison County Coroner Gary Hargrove said Williams was declared brain-dead shortly after he arrived. Family members took him off life support two days later. Hargrove said an autopsy showed Williams died of a brain hemorrhage. He was 40 years old.

A jailer, his name withheld by authorities, has been placed on administrative leave while the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation and the FBI review the case, according to Harrison County Sheriff George H. Payne Jr.

Authorities are withholding details. However, witnesses such as McBee have come forward because they're upset over what they saw, said Michael Crosby, a Gulfport attorney representing Williams' family.

"I'm usually very hesitant to take cases of alleged abuse by law enforcement," Crosby said, describing them as costly and hard to prove. "In this case, very credible witnesses have come forward describing extreme inhumane treatment, which is backed up by the physical evidence."

Nightmares also plague Irvin Watson, who said he was arrested earlier that night when a traffic stop showed he owed money on old fines. Police also accused Watson of giving a false name to avoid arrest.