Surveillance video shows correctional officers fatally beating and inmate to death

Pepper spray, kicks, punches - the video that led to the death of Gershun Freeman was released Thursday.

It’s the video that his family and attorneys wanted the public to see.

For almost 40 minutes, the video shows some of the last moments of Freeman’s life.

“Frankly, I would challenge anybody watching the video for the first time to pick out a specific number of deputies. What I think we can be clear on it is that it was ten or more,” said Jake Brown, one of the attorneys for the Freeman family.

He said the 33-year-old suffered a brutal beating.

“What I'm more interested in what the families more interested in as well as my co-counsel is why those sheriff's deputies did not even attempt to resuscitate Mr. Freeman when he was clearly limp without a pulse. Non-responsive on the floor.”

An autopsy describes deep cuts and bruises, with the medical examiner citing the cause of death as heart disease that was made worse by a physical encounter with the guards.

Attorneys say so far, they have not heard anything from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

“Frankly, the sheriff's office has not communicated with us at all. We are fortunate to have a district attorney or I'd say two district attorneys, one in Memphis, one in Nashville, who themselves are both committed to transparency and accountability. And if not for them, I don't think we would have seen the video yet,” said Brown.

Freeman was awaiting his first court appearance, when he died on October 5.

“We don't know much about the circumstances that led him to be in jail. But the fact that he was in jail does not mean he was guilty of anything. He was accused of something. He was accused by officers of the Memphis police Department, whom we know are not always honest in the police reports they file,” he said.

Although the number of jailers involved is unknown at this time, Brown said a change needs to be made within the department.

“The fact that those officers felt comfortable doing that in front of other officers, it clearly shows that there is a problem in the culture of the Shelby County Sheriff's Department. It is similar to what we saw in the Tyre Nichols case when we saw those officers doing what they were doing in front of other officers.”

Freeman was awaiting his first court appearance at his time of death.

“We don't know much about the circumstances that led him to be in jail. But the fact that he was in jail does not mean he was guilty of anything. He was accused of something. He was accused by officers of the Memphis police Department, whom we know are not always honest in the police reports they file,” said Brown.

Following the release of the video on Thursday, Sheriff Floyd Bonner issued 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 DA before taking further administrative action."

The case has been turned over to the Nashville District Attorney’s office for review.