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HATTIESBURG -- A wide-eyed, somber audience in federal court viewed a second videotaped inmate assault this afternoon shortly after prosecutors played the recorded fatal beating of Jessie Lee Williams Jr.
The second tape showed the assault of Kasey Dion Alves, who told the court he suffered acute kidney failure after an incident at the Harrison County jail in Gulfport on Jan. 7, 2006. Alves said he was punched, pepper-sprayed and strapped tightly in a restraint chair for about seven hours.
Biloxi Police Officer Kit Manning, who also testified, said Alves was "extremely intoxicated" at the time of his arrest but wasn't a threat to anyone even after they were in the jail booking room. Manning said he put Alves against the wall and told him to stay there and turned but noticed Alves walking toward him. Manning said he pushed Alves against the acrylic glass window and again told him to wait for a booking officer.
The videotape shows an officer identified as Ryan Michael Teel shove Alves against the glass and both wound up on the floor, with Alves belly-down and Teel on top of him.
At the time, Alves was in two sets of handcuffs, a procecure Manning said is typical in the transfer of a detainee to another agency.
The tape shows that Teel wound a pillow case or sheet around Alves' head. Manning said it was tight enough to see Alves' facial features and he could see blood seeping through the cloth. Manning said Alves was pepper-sprayed and recalled hearing Alves say he couldn't breathe, Manning said the pepper spray on the cuts on his face undoubtedly increased Alves' pain and discomfort.
The tape showed officers wrapping Alves in a blanket Manning called "a mummy wrap."
"I was surprised," said Manning, adding that officers in the booking room acted as if "it was something they were used to."
The tape showed Alves strapped in a restraint chair and rolled into a holding cell with other detainees. Gasps could be heard across the courtroom as the tape showed Teel slam a different inmate against a door jam and then slammed him again.
Alves told the court that former Sgt. Regina Rhodes also was involved and said he was punched in the mouth. Alves said he remembered gasping for breath and watching officers walking by laughing at him and making sarcastic remarks.
The tape showed Teel bouncing a ball against the window while Alves remained restrained.
In testimony earlier this morning, former Sheriff's Capt. Rupert Lacy told jurors how he trained Teel and former Capt. James Ricky "Rick" Gaston in the proper use of pepper spray. Lacy also testified on the proper use of a Taser and said both are tools for officers to use to bring unruly prisoners into compliance.
In response to prosecutor Lisa Krigsten's questions, Lacy said it would not be appropriate to use either tool on a restrained inmate who posed no threat to others. He also said officers were advised in training and through polices and procedures that using them for punishment or "play" could cost them their job.
When the jury was sent home for the night, Gaston's attorney again asked U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. to try his client separately, citing damaging testimony against Teel. Guirola again denied his request.
The Sun Herald is in Hattiesburg covering the trial and updates this story online and in Thursday's editions.
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