A sheriff’s deputy from Richmond County, Ga., is facing felony charges of false imprisonment and cruelty to children in the first degree after he allegedly handcuffed a 12-year-old to a basketball post and beat him, WRDW reports.
Deputy Alton Walker, who has since been fired, reportedly went to a friend’s house to discipline an “unruly” 12-year-old boy, the news station notes. While there, Walker, who was off-duty and not in uniform at the time, allegedly hit the child multiple times in the face with his hands and also punched him in the stomach. In addition, Walker allegedly threatened to use a Taser on the young boy.
The mother of the child said that she wasn’t home at the time of the incident and had merely wanted Walker to talk to her child, not beat him.
According to WRDW, a witness on the scene heard the child crying and looked over a fence to see Walker punching the boy with his fist and, in fact, tasing him. The witness also claimed that Walker used his baton on the boy.
After the incident, investigators got arrest warrants for the now-former deputy. He was terminated from the sheriff’s office immediately. The investigation into the incident is ongoing, according to the news station.
Read more at WRDW.