JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Three correctional officers who were captured on camera beating 41-year-old Jarrett Hobbs were arrested and booked into jail shortly before bonding out. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested Mason Garrick, Ryan Biegel and Braxton Massey on Tuesday.
They were booked into the same jail where Hobbs was beaten. Garrick is 23, Massey is 21 and Biegel is 24. Biegel is a Kingsland resident while the other two live in Woodbine, Georgia.
Two other correctional officers, who were involved, will face undisclosed disciplinary actions, officials said.
Director of the GBI Mike Register said the trust between law enforcement and the people must be preserved.
Massey has been with the Camden County Sheriff's Office for just six months while Garrick was with the agency for 18 months and Biegel served for three years. The three men are facing charges for battery and violation of their oath of office.
After watching the video himself, Director Register said the video was shocking.
"But, I've also been in law enforcement long enough to understand that we have to stop, take a knee and look at the facts and put into context."
During the investigation, the GBI traveled to a jail in North Carolina to interview the victim.
Hobbs was beaten by the officers on the same day he was booked into jail, September 3rd. However, it took 10 weeks before Sheriff Jim Proctor called for an internal investigation. Hobbs was arrested for speeding, driving with a revoked or suspended license and possessing a controlled substance. His lawyers showed video of what happened before and after the beating. They said Hobbs was allegedly being disruptive by banging on the door. In one of the videos, a loud noise can be heard from the Hobbs' cell before correctional officers come in.
Garrick, Biegel and Massey were arrested and booked into jail on Tuesday but bonded out later that day, according to online records.
Harry Daniels, the attorney representing Hobbs, provided video of the now-viral beating. He said he was not surprised when the officers were arrested.
The attorney feels the arrests are only the beginning - Justice, he said, is seeing the correctional officers who beat Hobbs convicted.
"A message needs to be sent because a message not sent to those bad actors, guess what, we will be sitting here having the same conversation again," Daniels added.
The recent arrests are a step towards justice, to Timothy Bessent Sr., the Chapter President for the NAACP in Camden County.
Bessent told First Coast News the community will not be satisfied until the officers are "held the fullest extent of the law."
"We believe that the sheriff's action was a delayed action."
Even though arrests have been made, the investigations are not over. The GBI said they would make more arrests if necessary.
