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Former Walker County corrections officer admits he tried to cover up inmate assault

Former Walker County corrections officer admits he tried to cover up inmate assault

WALKER COUNTY, Ala. (WBRC) – A former Walker County corrections officer has agreed to plead guilty to falsifying records related to a September 2022 assault on an inmate.

Betty Jo Cooley admitted to covering up the unreasonable force she used, according to federal court records. other corrections officer Joshua Connor Jones on a prisoner.

Court documents say Cooley and an inmate had a disagreement over cell assignments. According to court documents, Jones hit the inmate in the face so hard with a metal canister of pepper spray that he broke the trigger and sprayed all three with the chemical.

Court records also say: “No legitimate law enforcement goal justifies Jones striking (the inmate) in the face with a metal can.”

Following the incident, Jones wrote a false incident report trying to justify his actions, according to federal court records. After Jones wrote the report, Cooley copied the same narrative, even though he knew it was false, to hide the truth from other law enforcement officials, according to court records.

Jones pleaded guilty to deprivation of rights under the law in that case. He also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit deprivation of rights under color of law. Tony Mitchell prisoner death inquest. He has not yet been sentenced in federal court.

When reached for comment, Walker County Sheriff Nick Smith said, “We decline to comment while the investigation is ongoing.”

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