BIBB COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — A federal grand jury has indicted four Alabama Department of Corrections officers using excessive force and obstructing justice in an incident involving an inmate back in 2018.
According to the indictment, Sgt. Keith Finch and officers Jordan Thomas, Kevin Blaylock punished a prisoner at the Bibb Correctional Facility in Brent, Ala. who had run out of their cell. Two officers took the prisoner down and then Finch, Thomas and Blaylock began kicking and hitting the prisoner multiple times with their batons.
The prisoner suffered “bodily injury” according to the indictment. Thomas and his supervisor, Sgt. Orlanda Walker, allegedly obstructed justice by filing a false report claiming that there was no excessive force after the prisoner was on the ground.
Finch, Thomas and Blaylock have been formally charged with deprivation of rights under the color of law and Thomas and Walker have been charged with obstruction of justice.
Finch and Blaylock face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison if convicted. Walker faces 20 and Thomas could face up to 30 years in prison for both charges. All four also face a potential $250,000 fine.