From the office of District Attorney General Jody Pickens, 26th Judicial District –

On or about September 23, 2020, I was contacted by Madison County Sheriff John Mehr regarding a September 21, 2020, incident in the Madison County Jail involving a use of force by corrections officers against an inmate. On September 25, 2020, I met with Sheriff Mehr who provided me with video of the incident as well as various reports that had been produced.

After reviewing the written material and the video, on September 28, 2020, I contacted the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and requested that they conduct an investigation into the matter.

Additionally, the office of United States Attorney D. Michael Dunavant as well as the Federal Bureau of Investigation were apprised of the situation. Currently both the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are conducting investigations into the incident.

This being an ongoing investigation, there will be no further comment on the matter as this time.

(PHOTO: District Attorney General Jody Pickens, 26th Judicial District)