TEMPLE, Texas — Two Bell County jailers were fired Thursday following their arrest Monday on misdemeanor charges of assault with bodily injury and violation of civil rights of a person in custody, Bell County Sheriff's Department Major T.J. Cruz said.
According to the arrest affidavits, the jailers kicked and punched an "unruly" inmate, who was high on methamphetamine, while he was handcuffed behind his back.
Jailers Kelvin Miller, 34, and Terrance Gardner, 28, were fired because of the incident, Cruz said.
Miller and Gardner were arrested after an internal investigation at the Bell County Jail and a separate Texas Rangers investigation, Cruz said.
Cruz said the jail's internal investigation turned up disturbing information, so they brought in Texas Rangers.
Sheriff Eddy Lange met with the family of a Bell County Jail inmate on Thursday and the family told him they were concerned for the inmate's safety and wanted to report possible wrongdoings by some jailers, according to Cruz.
Texas Rangers started their investigation Friday morning and finished on Monday.
Miller and Gardner turned themselves in to the Bell County Jail Monday evening without incident, and their bonds were set at $10,000. Both jailers were released on bond, Cruz said.
The Bell County Sheriff's Department said it is continuing its internal investigation.
KCEN Channel 6 obtained the arrest affidavits that a Texas Ranger investigating the case filed.
According to the affidavit, the incident happened Thursday at 3:45 a.m.
Jailers Miller and Gardner went to 23-year-old Jvareus Pratt's cell, who was high on methamphetamine and "became paranoid and unruly," the affidavit said. Pratt barricaded himself in his cell and covered the window with clothing and bed linens, and jailers said they couldn't see Pratt because his cell had no cameras, the affidavit said.
Miller and Gardner tried to restrain and move Pratt to a padded, videotaped cell, but Pratt resisted and ran down the hall when his cell door was opened, the affidavit said. Pratt was caught, then allegedly punched Miller in the face as he struggled, kicked and fought the jailers, according to the affidavit.
A sergeant then used his taser on Pratt, who was immediately subdued and handcuffed behind his back, the affidavit said.
Miller and Gardner moved Pratt to the padded and videotaped cell, then began to kick and punch him in the head and body, all while he was still handcuffed, the affidavit said.
The Texas Ranger who filed the affidavit said he watched video of the incident, which only lasted about 10 minutes, from three different cameras. He said the video from Pratt's original cell and the jail's main area were accurate to what sergeants told him, the affidavit said.
The third video came from the padded and videotaped cell. The sergeant told the ranger the jailers' intention was to take the handcuffs off of Pratt then leave the cell, but the jailers escalated the situation, the affidavit said.
The ranger said the video showed Pratt was clearly handcuffed behind his back, leaving his head, stomach and body "exposed and defenseless," the affidavit said.
In the video, it appears jailer Gardner and another jailer, who wasn't charged, tried to spin Pratt onto his stomach, but he resisted, causing his head and upper body to move towards the opened door of the cell, the affidavit said.
At the same time, jailer Miller entered the cell and appeared to kick Pratt around the head or chest area, the affidavit said.
Miller then jumped on Pratt and punched him in the head and neck area, the ranger said about the video. At the same time, it appeared Gardner punched Pratt in the torso at least six or seven times, the affidavit said.
It appeared a jailer tried to stop both Miller and Gardner from hitting Pratt, the ranger said in the affidavit about the video.
Jailers couldn't get Pratt to cooperate to remove the handcuffs, so they left the cell and locked the door, the affidavit said. About 45 minutes later, a sergeant came in and removed Pratt's handcuffs.
The ranger asked if medical staff had seen Pratt after the incident, and a sergeant said he wasn't sure, the affidavit said. The ranger got to the jail at about 12:30 p.m. Thursday, and Pratt agreed to do an interview with him.
According to the interview summary in the affidavit, Pratt told the ranger he took drugs and "felt like the deputies were going to let about eight guys into his cell to gang rape him," so that's why he barricaded his cell.
Pratt at first told the ranger he didn't resist when a jailer grabbed him by the back of his neck and pulled him from his cell, then he admitted he grabbed the jail doors because he was scared.
Pratt told the ranger he ran away from deputies and stiff armed one of them, but he denied hitting any of them. Pratt confirmed he was tased, handcuffed and taken into the padded cell, where two jailers hit him in the head, face and torso.
The ranger said Pratt told him he was not seen by medical staff or mental wellness after the incident. Prat told the ranger he felt he suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, anxiety and depression. Pratt said he was transferred from the central jail to the loop jail so he could be seen by a mental health specialist.
The ranger took photos of Pratt's injuries. According to the affidavit, he had many bruises and cuts on his face, arm and torso.
KCEN Channel 6 has requested the footage of the incident from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and the Texas Department of Public Safety.
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