A Black man in Georgia has filed a federal civil action against a former jail guard who was shown on surveillance footage choking the inmate briefly with leg chains while the man was strapped to a restraint chair and as three fellow officers stood by.
In the lawsuit filed April 16 in federal court in Brunswick, Georgia, 37-year-old Tremar Harris names Appling County Jail guard William Rentz as the sole defendant, claiming the 60-year-old corrections officer put a chain around his throat and made a racist remark, saying, “Gonna put you back in the cotton field with the other boys.”
Harris is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, among other things, and his attorneys have asked for a jury trial, claiming Rentz violated Harris’ civil rights.
The disturbing episode occurred while Harris was jailed in January 2022, according to the lawsuit obtained by Atlanta Black Star.
Video of the violent encounter has been released by Harris’ attorneys but contains no audio.
The footage shows Rentz and three other jail staffers, identified as officers Daydan Brannon, Cannon Mcleod and Ansley Fennell, walk into the frame after Harris was wheeled into a small holding cell.
There, Harris was left alone with his arms and legs strapped to a reinforced wheelchair as he was made to sit with his face to the wall for several hours.
During this time, Harris managed to wriggle one arm free from a wrist restraint, but he couldn’t move otherwise as his other limbs remained fastened tightly.
When two of the officers came back in the cell, they confronted Harris about the arm restraint being off.
The two officers left the holding cell again, but came back moments later with Rentz, who now had two sets of leg shackles fashioned with a short length of chain in the middle.
The video shows Rentz hang one of the chains on the handlebars of Harris’ chair.
Rentz used the other chain to cuff Harris’s free arm to the chair again.
From there, the video shows Brannon, Mcleod and Fennell standing quietly aside in observer roles as Rentz checked all of Harris’ restraints to ensure he was fully immobilized.
During the shakedown, Harris appears to say something to Rentz several times, but it’s not clear what he said as the surveillance footage is silent.
Otherwise, Harris appears to be cooperative, mostly hanging his head low and never making any aggressive moves toward the officers, even as Rentz leans down in front of him to tighten his straps more.
Satisfied, Rentz walks back around to the rear of the chair again, where he grabs the other set of leg chains and swings them around Harris’ neck.
Rentz then reels back on the chain, strangling the man for about four seconds as Harris’ tongue hangs from his mouth, the video shows.
The shocking moment, while brief, prompted no physical or emotional reaction from the other guards in the room, who did nothing to intervene as Rentz choked the defenseless man.
An investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation a month after the incident noted that Rentz put the chain around Harris’ neck and pulled it “towards Harris’ throat in a manner which was likely to cause severe injury or death.”
As a result, Rentz was fired from his job for violating jail policies.
Worse, he was arrested in March 2023 on several charges, including aggravated assault, violation of oath of office, and battery.
However, the local district attorney’s office later decided to drop the charges, prompting Harris to file the civil lawsuit.
Attorneys for Harris have asked the Department of Justice to look into the incident.
“These three officers had a legal and a moral duty to protect Tremar Harris. But they did nothing,” said national civil rights attorney Harry M. Daniels, who is representing Harris in a statement. “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.”
“Officers aren’t allowed to watch a violent crime happen even if the criminal is wearing a badge.”
So far, no video has emerged of other circumstances that may have preceded the extraordinary use of force by Rentz that was filmed.
The lawsuit claims that before the choking incident, Rentz and the other officers entered Harris’ cell and repeatedly shocked him with a “shock shield” device.
This was notable as Harris appeared to be incapacitated when he was initially placed in the holding cell, where he was left sitting for several hours, the civil action states.
Court records show that at the time of the choking incident, Harris was a pre-trial detainee who was placed in solitary confinement.
Restraint chairs are typically used in correctional facilities when an inmate is deemed to be a threat to themselves or others, or when they are experiencing a mental health episode, or being disruptive and cannot be safely restrained by other means.
Rentz has denied the allegations.
