HATTIESBURG -- Additional testimony and a different camera angle of the beating of Jessie Lee Williams Jr. indicates he may not have lunged at Officer Ryan Teel.
Instead, with a narration to the video by Sheriff's Deputy William Correa, it appears that when Teel planted his feet to kick Williams, Williams raised a hand to fend off the blow, which struck him in the stomach or chest.
It appears Williams fell and Teel fell over and grabbed him. Then the two began to tussle.
Correa indicated he believed it was excessive force and later told his supervisor, who instructed him to write a brief report, outlining his role in the incident.
Correa said he heard Officer Regina Rhodes encourage Teel by saying, "Get him. Hit him." Correa said he later returned to the jail, where Teel, Rhodes and Officer Morgan Thompson were working on their use of force narrative reports. According to Correa, Teel said, "We have to write this up the right way."
Correa said he believes that meant to write a report in their favor.
In response to questions from trial attorney John Cotton Richmond, Correa admitted he did not include in his report all he saw, nor did he tell the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation all he knew.
In other testimony, Dr. James Doty, a neurosurgeon, said Williams effectively was dead when he saw him at the hospital about 2:50 a.m. the next day.
Doty said Williams had blunt-force trauma of the facial area and a blood clot, or subdural hematoma, that spread through the right side of his brain. His brain was realigned by at least three-quarters of an inch.
Doty said he believes the injuries occurred after he reached the jail because he was talkative and walking around. He said the brain injury occurred four to six hours before he evaluated Williams.
"His was one of the most severe subdural hematomas I've actually evaluated in my years," said Doty, who has been practicing for 20 years.
Read more about the trial in updates at sunherald.com and compete coverage of Friday's proceedings in Saturday's Sun Herald.
E-Mail
Print
@Nyx.CommentBody@