APPLING COUNTY, Ga. — A man is suing three Georgia jail officers who didn't intervene as another guard choked him.
Attorneys for Tremar Harris, the 37-year-old Black man who was strapped into a restraint chair when he was choked, announced the lawsuit on Wednesday. It happened at the Appling County Jail in January 2022.
They also provided a full, five-minute video of the incident. The video shows the other three officers looking on as the choking occurs.
Civil rights lawyer Harry Daniels said in a statement they had a "legal and moral duty to protect Tremar Harris, but they did nothing."
"Instead of doing their jobs stopping this unlawful, hateful and sadistic act, they chose to stand and watch as their fellow officer tortured a fellow human being," Daniels added.
The guard who committed the choke, William Rentz, was terminated after the incident and charged with aggravated assault, battery and violation of oath of office, the suit states.
The other three are alleged to have "knowingly failed to document the unlawful use of force, nor did they report the unlawful use of force."
The choke, which happens in the moments after the 3:20 mark in the video above this story (also in the YouTube player at the bottom), was done with the "chain of an unused leg restraint," the lawsuit alleges.
At the moment Rentz performed the choke, the video shows that none of the other guards appear to react or say anything to Rentz. All four then walk out of the cell.
The other three guards, the suit asserts, "had the ability, opportunity, skill and time to prevent and immediately stop Officer Rentz from strangling" Harris but "deliberately selected to stand by and watch Officer Rentz."
The suit further alleges that as the choke occurred, Rentz told Harris he was "gonna put you back in the cotton field with the other boys," though the video does not include audio and cannot confirm this.
The lawsuit seeks a range of damages in an unspecified amount.
News happens fast. Stream it faster with our re-designed 11Alive+ app.
Watch newscasts, breaking news streams and get the latest sports, weather and VERIFY content -- 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Available on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Text "plus" to 404-885-7600 to download 11Alive+ and stream now.