There’s a disturbing story emerging from Cheatham County — best known for its one skyscraper and the best Tractor Supply Company store in the land — about a lawsuit in which a man alleges he was shocked repeatedly by Cheatham County deputies while he was restrained in a chair.
News Channel 5 had the original story of the lawsuit last week. Here are the things the sheriff said about this dude and what happened to him:
“Sheriff Breedlove said officers followed procedure because Norris continued flinching and was not fully restrained.[...]
“On the sheriff office's Facebook page from the week Norris was arrested -- the sheriff himself seemed to taunt Norris.
“He wrote that Norris ‘peed a little bit’ when he was first arrested by the SWAT Team.
“The sheriff called Norris ‘a drug dealer by trade and on the fast track to live the thug Life.’
“Breedlove said the Facebook page is meant to be humorous and entertaining and he writes once a week to update the public about the arrests made by the department.”
It should go without saying, but it’s hard not to flinch when you’re being shocked repeatedly. Also, it’s disgusting that the sheriff would then go on Facebook to mock this dude. But that’s not the kicker. The kicker is that, even though this happened a year ago, and even though there’s video of the whole incident, and even though the sheriff claimed that his officers did the right thing, now he’s changed his tune.
News Channel 5 is now reporting the sheriff’s new statement:
“Prior to receiving more detailed information, I provided a statement based off of what I had initially seen, to a Nashville television reporter. After seeing the media report and videos not previously viewed, I immediately directed supervisors to examine the Sheriff’s Office's current use-of-force policy. I also contacted District Attorney General Ray Crouch Jr. to request an independent investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.“As Sheriff, I want our citizens to know that any inappropriate behavior that may have violated an individual’s rights will not be tolerated. I have place the employees involved on administrative leave while the investigation is conducted.”
But the employee of the sheriff’s department who went on Facebook to mock the dude they appear to have tortured? That dude’s still on the job? And why does it take the media looking into a case for the sheriff to watch the whole video? Shouldn’t he have done that as soon as allegations of abuse were raised? Or when the lawsuit was filed? Or, hell, at least before he shot his mouth off to News Channel 5?
I mean, no wonder Cheatham County deputies felt free to strap this guy in a chair and shoot him full of electricity. Their boss doesn’t seem to have the inclination to supervise them. He’s too busy mocking the person they injured on Facebook.
