Inmate Alleges Racial Assault by Officer in Georgia Jail Lawsuit

A Black inmate at a Georgia jail accused a corrections officer of choking him with a leg restraint and making a racial remark as three other officers looked on, according to a lawsuit.

On Tuesday, Tremar Harris filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia against three prison officials from the Appling County Sheriff’s Office.

According to the lawsuit, the police “had a duty to intervene” and halt the assault on January 29, 2022, but instead stood and watched as former prison officer William Rentz “pulled the chain against the Plaintiff’s throat and strangled” him for roughly four seconds. Rentz, who is not a defendant in the current complaint but is named in a previous one filed by Harris, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, battery, and violation of oath of office. The most recent lawsuit claims he was fired.

The sheriff’s office did not immediately reply to a request for comment on Thursday.

According to the lawsuit, Harris was a pretrial inmate held in solitary confinement at the Appling County Jail. According to reports, he was placed in a restraint chair and kept in a padded cell while in jail.

According to the lawsuit, Harris was able to release his right arm from the confinement on the chair before the three defendants entered the cell and handcuffed him. “Subsequently, while standing above and behind the Plaintiff who was seated and secured in the restraint chair, Officer Rentz used the chain of an unused leg restraint and placed it across the Plaintiff’s throat,” according to the complaint.

While Rentz choked Harris, the officer remarked, “he was gonna put you (Plaintiff) back in the cotton field with the other boys, inferring that the Plaintiff was a slave,” according to the claim. Rentz is white.

A photo in the lawsuit shows the cop appearing to choke Harris with the leg restraint as the three defendants watch. According to the lawsuit, Harris did not pose a threat and feared for his life during the claimed assault.

“Plaintiff was in a state of terror and extreme fear at the time and after Officer Rentz took the chain of the leg restraint and strangled him,” according to the report. The three cops could not be reached for comment using the phone numbers supplied. It’s unclear whether they’ve hired counsel.

Harris filed a separate federal civil suit against Rentz in January. Rentz claimed Harris was placed in solitary confinement due to his erratic behavior, according to court filings. Rentz stated in the records that he thought his actions “were appropriate and necessary.”

Rentz’s counsel declined to comment beyond the lawsuit.