SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn — On Wednesday, September 20, the Shelby County Sheriff hosted a news conference on Gershun Freeman's death in the Shelby County Jail on October 5, 2022, and confirmed indictments were announced against nine correctional officers.
Bonner did not name the deputies involved in the case but did say he will offer legal fees for those deputies to fight the case.
He claimed the "early" release of "edited" video of the deadly altercation was a political move, meant to derail his campaign for Memphis Mayor.
A video of the altercation inside the jail showing Freeman being beaten and restrained by multiple correctional officers was released March 2.
The last minutes of the video show Gershun being restrained naked by multiple officers while handcuffed, lying face down on the jail floor. One officer is seen kneeling on his back for about four minutes until his body goes limp.
After the 13-minute compiled video was released in March, Shelby County Sheriff Bonner released this statement:
"According to the Medical Examiner, Mr. Gershun Freeman suffered from psychosis and cardiovascular disease and died of a heart attack while being restrained. It is unfortunate that parts of the video are being shown out of context because the full video does show the erratic and violent behavior that led to the need to restrain Mr. Freeman.
These corrections officers deserve a fair review of this case, and I will wait for additional information from the TBI and the investigating D.A. before taking further administrative action. This is still an open and active investigation."
In April, Freeman's family filed a lawsuit against Sheriff Floyd Bonner, Chief Jailer Kirk Fields and the government of Shelby County for violating the Civil Rights Act of 1871, 42 U.S.C & 1983 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
Brice Timmons and Jake Brown, attorneys for Gershun Freeman's family, commented Wednesday immediately after Bonner's press conference, alleging the Sheriff was in violation of state law by commenting on the indictments before they were officially un-sealed, which they said will happen Monday.
They blasted Bonner on a poor record in office as Sheriff, referencing 40 deaths in the Shelby County Jail during his tenure, which they claimed was more inmate deaths than New York's infamous Rikers Island prison during the same time frame.
“We’re standing in front of the Wall of Honor," Brown said. "Law enforcement should be a noble profession...Bonner has dishonored the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.”
The family attorneys also claimed the deputies named in the indictments - whose names they did not release - are still employed at the Shelby County Jail.
District Attorney Steve Mulroy released the following statement on the press conference:
“I endorsed Van Turner for Mayor before Mr. Freeman died in the Shelby County Jail and before Sheriff Bonner declared his candidacy. To keep politics out of the case, I recused myself and requested another DA be appointed, a common practice among DAs which is not at all unusual. The DA Conference, not me, appointed Glenn Funk. I've had no involvement at all in the case since last year, and played no role in the decision to indict.
The release of the video was per the regular practice of DA Funk and not at all unusual. I haven't stated I disagree with it. Sheriff Bonner was legally able to release any and all of the videos in all jail death and officer-involved shooting cases. I favor such release in the name of transparency.
In recent jail death cases since the Freeman case, Sheriff Bonner initially refused to provide TBI or this office with videos, stating that we could view the video at his office but could not have a copy and that we had to go through his lawyer Allan Wade. This is not practical; we need a copy of the video to examine ourselves. As a result, I had to get the TBI to compel production of the videos.
I can't comment on the details of the Freeman case, both because it is an ongoing case and because I am not involved in it since it is DA Funk's case and not ours. “