Sheriff Launches Investigation After Man Claims He Was Beaten By Multiple Officers In Jail
SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY (CBS13) — The San Joaquin County Sheriff's Office is investigating one of their own after a Stockton man claimed he was brutally beaten by three corrections officers early Monday morning.
Jacob Servin, 24, says he was beaten by at least three officers in what he calls a racially-motivated attack.
"The truth is the truth, and it doesn't change," Sheriff Patrick Withrow said in a press conference Friday in reference to the internal investigation he is launching into his own officers.
There is no surveillance video from inside the holding cell to show what happened early Monday morning, so now third parties, including the Stockton Police Department and the San Joaquin District Attorney's Office, will try to find out that truth.
Servin walked out of the jail Monday afternoon bloodied and bruised. The Sheriff's office confirms he did not come into the jail with any injuries.
On Thursday, the sheriff's office released the only surveillance video they have, showing Servin in the booking area and going to and from the holding cell, where there are no cameras.
Servin appears to physically comply with the officers' demands, although the footage is silent. He claims officers made racial slurs toward him, at one point calling him a "terrorist."
Officers are then seen escorting Servin to a temporary holding cell. That is where Servin says he was held down and three officers beat him with their fists and batons.
CBS13 asked sheriff Withrow about the standard operating procedure in the department when it comes to dealing with a combative inmate.
"They don't have a whole lot of options in there, other than when somebody becomes combative, to defend themselves, to fight back and use control holds and get them in a position either back in handcuffs or in this case, get out of the cell the best they could," Withrow said.
Now the Sheriff says this investigation, which will be conducted by the District Attorney's office, will determine the truth about what happened during those seven minutes inside the holding cell.
None of the officers involved have been placed on administrative leave.
The District Attorney said there are no longer misdemeanor charges against Servin as they focus on this protocol investigation which could take several months.
