Bradley Deputy Accused of Excessive Force With Inmate

UPDATE: 6:48 P.M: The Bradley County Sheriff’s office has named the deputy involved in excessive force case as Deputy Gene Delk.

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Inside the lobby of the Bradley County Sheriff’s office, hangs the bill of rights, and an inmate says his rights were violated on Thursday when a deputy is accused of using excessive force inside the courtroom.

As a result, a Bradley County Deputy Sheriff is on administrative paid leave while an investigation is underway for allegations of excessive force.

That deputy, who the Sheriff’s office is not naming, is accused of using “excessive or illegal force” on Thursday during a court hearing.

In a statement to News 12, Bradley County District Attorney Stephen Crump says his office, along with TBI is investigating and that, “The investigation centers on whether excessive or illegal force was used by a corrections officer on an inmate who was appearing in the General Sessions Court.”

The DA says he also is not releasing the name of the inmate, nor is he releasing the name of the deputy. He says that decision was made because this is an investigation and no criminal charges have been filed as of yet.

“The officer has been involved for several years. Uh, he’s been on put on administrative leave, uh, that’s because of our policy. As far as that, he’ll remain on su-suspension until, uh, the investigation is complete,” said James Bradford, Public Information Officer with the Sheriff’s office.

He says no one should be put out to be burned at the stake until an investigation is completed.

News 12 has been able to confirm the altercation took place in this court room inside the Judicial Complex sometime between 2 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The court room has security cameras, which means everything was caught on film. News 12 has requested a copy of the video. We were told that until the investigation is closed, it will not be released.

The Sheriff’s office would not tell us why the inmate was in court, or what charges they were initially facing.

“This officer does not have any kind of write-ups, as far as excessive force,” Bradford said.

News 12 still working to learn the name of that inmate and deputy involved. You can count on us to bring you the latest the moment that we know it.