‘This is how we treat seizures in Walker County’: Deputy stomped the genitals of a mentally ill inmate who later died of complications from injury

An Alabama sheriff’s lawman pleaded blameworthy to restraining a susceptible inmate much than 2 years aft that inmate died arsenic a effect of his treatment during his clip successful custody.

Carl Lofton Carpenter, 55, entered a blameworthy plea connected Tuesday successful which helium admitted to mistreating Anthony “Tony” Mitchell, 33, who died of hypothermia and sepsis 2 weeks aft helium was arrested by Walker County police. Local quality website Al.com reported that his decease was ruled a homicide by the region coroner, who stated that the causes of his decease were a effect of “infected injuries obtained during incarceration and aesculapian neglect.” In his plea, Carpenter admitted to “us[ing] his shod ft to stomp connected the genitals” of Mitchell “to punish and inflict symptom without a morganatic instrumentality enforcement crushed to bash so.”

Carpenter was 1 of respective instrumentality enforcement unit who took portion successful the mistreatment of Mitchell, who was primitively arrested during a intelligence payment cheque connected Jan. 12, 2023. Mitchell was accused by authorities of firing a weapon portion officers were connected the property. Despite being told by aesculapian unit that Mitchell was exhibiting symptoms of terrible intelligence illness, including “expressing delusions related to demons and portals” to hell, according to the plea, the Walker County Sheriff made the telephone to transport him to the region jail.

According to the plea agreement, Mitchell was “compliant, obeyed commands, and posed nary menace of harm to the officers, himself, oregon anyone else.” The statement stated that astatine 1 constituent during the arrest, Mitchell “stiffened momentarily,” which caused Carpenter to enactment retired successful “anger.” The papers said that Carpenter threw Mitchell to the ground, wherever helium landed connected his back, his hands cuffed down him. Carpenter past “raised his ft and brought it down with unit … stomping connected [Mitchell’s] genitals.” He past said, “This is however we dainty seizures successful Walker County.”

After his archetypal assault, Carpenter past threw Mitchell into the backmost of the squad car. While Mitchell’s legs dangled extracurricular the car, Carpenter kicked them portion Mitchell “lay immobile.” According to the plea, Carpenter chose to inflict unnecessary symptom connected Mitchell due to the fact that helium was “accustomed to harming arrestees unnecessarily accordant with the ‘culture’ of the Walker County Sheriff’s Office.”

Following the assaults connected Mitchell, Carpenter and different unnamed serviceman some agreed to “tell national investigators the aforesaid mendacious mentation of events,” which was that Mitchell was “passively resisting officers” and that Carpenter simply held Mitchell to the crushed utilizing his foot.

Mitchell’s attraction erstwhile helium arrived astatine Walker County Jail besides made headlines and resulted successful respective instrumentality enforcement employees taking pleas of their own. Mitchell died connected Jan. 26, 2023.

Carpenter faces a condemnation of a maximum of 10 years successful situation and a good up to $250,000.

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