9 Jail Deputies Seen on Video Beating Black Man Who Had Psychotic Episode Are Indicted in His Death

Gershun Freeman, 33, was beaten by deputies and died in jail last Oct. 5

Gershun Freeman, 33, had been in a Memphis jail for just four days when he had a psychotic episode in his cell last Oct. 5. A group of corrections officers beat him repeatedly in an incident caught on video that allegedly led to his death.

Now, nine corrections officers — Stevon Jones, Courtney Parham, Jeffrey Gibson, Anthony Howell, Damien Cooper, Ebonee Davis, Lareko Elliot, Chelsey Duckett and one unnamed officer — are criminally charged in connection with Freeman’s death, PEOPLE confirms.

Jones and Parham are charged with second-degree murder and aggravated assault while acting in concert with others, according to an indictment released Thursday and obtained by USA Today and the Commercial Appeal. Jones had additional assault charges added to his indictment. The other officers are charged with aggravated assault resulting in the death of another.

It's not immediately clear if any of the suspects have entered pleas or retained attorneys.

Freeman was arrested on Oct. 1 on accusations that he kidnapped and attacked his girlfriend. Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner, citing the medical examiner's report, has said during multiple press conferences that Freeman, who had a history of mental health problems and cardiovascular disease, died of a pre-existing heart condition during the incident.

Bonner, who is running for mayor, has publicly opposed the charges, characterizing them as political. Attorneys represented Freeman in a civil suit have strongly disagreed with Bonner's characterization, USA Today reports.

Bonner announced the indictment of the nine officers at a press conference Wednesday.
In March Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk, who is prosecuting the Memphis case, released a 13-minute video pieced together through surveillance footage in the jail that documents Freeman’s death.

In the video reviewed by PEOPLE, corrections officers are passing out boxed meals when two officers approach Freeman’s cell. Freeman bursts out naked, arms out, with his orange jumpsuit on the floor. 

A group of other corrections officers rush toward the scene, some beating Freeman with their batons. Amid the violence scene, two officers appear to fall on the floor.

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The video cuts to another hallway inside the jail, where Freeman is shown clinging to the legs of one officer, who pushes him off.

Later, Freeman eventually stands and walks behind two officers while appearing compromised; more officers follow some distance behind.

Violence soon escalates again. Freeman climbs an escalator, officers following quickly behind him. They appear to chase him and then back him into a wall.

Three male officers appear to punch Freeman and he goes to the ground; one officer appears to hold Freeman down as the three officers pin him to the ground. More officers join. At different points in the video, several officers hold him down with their knees, sometimes at his neck.

One officer kneeled on him, while he was on the ground, for about 3 minutes and 40 seconds, according to the timestamped footage.

Freeman’s body eventually goes still.

Shelby County Jail has seen 52 deaths since 2016, the Commercial Appeal reports.

The officers tied to Freeman’s death are on paid administrative leave, according to Bonner.

To help combat systemic racism, consider learning from or donating to these organizations:

• Campaign Zero works to end police brutality in America through research-proven strategies.

• ColorofChange.org works to make the government more responsive to racial disparities.

• National Cares Mentoring Movement provides social and academic support to help Black youth succeed in college and beyond.

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