President Timothy Bessent, Sr., President of the NAACP Camden County Branch (Unit 5177), issued this statement in response to the indictment of three Camden County Sheriff's Office employees for beating Jarrett Hobbs while he was in custody at Camden County jail:
“The indictment of Ryan Biegel, Braxton Massey, and Mason Garrick for the beating of Jarrett Hobbs last September sends a message that no one is above the law. It should also send a message to the Camden County Sheriff's Office that there needs to be a change in the culture of this jail that has a history of these kinds of incidents.
What happened to Mr. Hobbs should never have happened. This has changed his life and impacted his family in ways some of us may never understand.
The indictment is a step in the right direction, but justice is an uphill climb when it comes to people of color.
We will continue to follow this case along with other cases that we have been working on to make sure that there is a conviction of all officers involved and that everyone is held accountable.
We also note the firing (and arrest) of the corrections officer who struck Zyaire Ratliff in March, and we highlight the swift action taken by the fellow corrections officer who intervened and de-escalated that encounter.
This intervention is in stark contrast to the passivity of the two other corrections officers who looked on as Jarrett Hobbs was beaten. This intervention is also exactly the kind of action that would be required of all law enforcement officers if the Camden County Commissioners had enacted Cariol's Law here, as we asked them to do on April 20, 2021.
We will continue to advocate for change within the Camden County Sheriff's Office and will continue to hold all individuals accountable, from the most junior corrections officer to the Sheriff who appointed the current jail administrator and the County Commissioners who have continued to ignore our requests for legislative reform."
“The indictment of Ryan Biegel, Braxton Massey, and Mason Garrick for the beating of Jarrett Hobbs last September sends a message that no one is above the law. It should also send a message to the Camden County Sheriff's Office that there needs to be a change in the culture of this jail that has a history of these kinds of incidents.
What happened to Mr. Hobbs should never have happened. This has changed his life and impacted his family in ways some of us may never understand.
The indictment is a step in the right direction, but justice is an uphill climb when it comes to people of color.
We will continue to follow this case along with other cases that we have been working on to make sure that there is a conviction of all officers involved and that everyone is held accountable.
We also note the firing (and arrest) of the corrections officer who struck Zyaire Ratliff in March, and we highlight the swift action taken by the fellow corrections officer who intervened and de-escalated that encounter.
This intervention is in stark contrast to the passivity of the two other corrections officers who looked on as Jarrett Hobbs was beaten. This intervention is also exactly the kind of action that would be required of all law enforcement officers if the Camden County Commissioners had enacted Cariol's Law here, as we asked them to do on April 20, 2021.
We will continue to advocate for change within the Camden County Sheriff's Office and will continue to hold all individuals accountable, from the most junior corrections officer to the Sheriff who appointed the current jail administrator and the County Commissioners who have continued to ignore our requests for legislative reform."