A Mississippi police chief and four members of his staff have been fired after allegedly forcing a mentally disabled 18-year-old black man to eat cinnamon as part of a prank, according to ABC News.
In the cruel prank, which was videotaped and subsequently removed from YouTube, town clerk Angelia Chandler allegedly poured cinnamon powder into the victim Ted Martin's mouth as Tallahatchie County police Chief Terry Tyler and three others watched. A few seconds later, the teenager is seen running to a water fountain after coughing up the cinnamon. He then went straight to the bathroom because apparently he had become sick. Another video reportedly shows a former police officer boxing with Martin. That video has also been removed from the site.
The "cinnamon challenge" has hundreds of videos online in which people from across the world try to swallow cinnamon powder without water. The lack of water usually causes people to cough up the spice and choke.
The attorney for the 18-year-old told ABC News that the five people involved in the videotaping of the prank were "laughing, grinning and having a grand time" as his client choked.
Tyler is denying the accusations. "It's a bunch of lies and false allegations," he told ABC News. "I don't have anything to hide. I don't have anything to be ashamed of."
If these allegations are true, the five individuals who lost their jobs received the proper punishment. The sad part about it all is that if true, it's another example of people who videotape buffoonery and don't think it will ever catch up to them. We wonder how many other mentally disabled men and women go through such abuse on a daily basis.
Read more at ABC News.