A Nassau County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputy is accused of battering an inmate, authorities said.
The Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday morning announced the arrest of Joshwa Edsall, who has since been fired.
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According to the Sheriff’s Office, the arrest stems from an incident on Oct. 15, when Edsall responded to a disturbance inside the jail.
The Sheriff’s Office said an inmate who wanted his own cell was causing the disturbance, so Edsall used pepper spray, deploying it into the inmate’s face, in an attempt to gain control of the inmate. The inmate then turned his back to the corrections deputy and tried to wipe the pepper spray from his eyes, and that’s when Edsall grabbed the inmate by his shoulder and armpit and threw him into a concrete wall, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The inmate, who suffered head and facial injuries, fell to the ground, and Edsall drove his knee into the inmate’s back and utilized his stun gun as another deputy handcuffed the inmate, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
The inmate was taken to a hospital for treatment of his injuries.
“Obviously, this is not what we would expect from our employees. When we take people into our custody, they should expect a safe and professional environment, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated. The expectation is that our members of the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office exhibit the highest level of professionalism. We are disappointed by this outcome and the proper punishment in this case is arrest and termination of employment,” Sheriff Bill Leeper said in a statement.
“For some reason Edsall let his temper take control and take over. He lost control and he lost his job. When he was called in for a complaint interview he said he was expecting it because he knew he crossed the line. Per our agency’s policy an officer can only use that force which is necessary to overcome the resistance. In this case he used unnecessary and excessive force to control the situation of an inmate. I’m not going to tolerate bad behavior by our citizens and I’m not going to tolerate bad behavior by our employees. It’s unfortunate that someone would decide to lose his job and his career, but that’s exactly what he did.”
Edsall, 27, was hired on March 24. He had worked for the Sheriff’s Office for about seven months and was still on probation. According to the Sheriff’s Office, there were no other issues or complaints during that time.
Edsall previously worked for the Florida Department of Corrections.