Misdemeanor cruelty charges were filed against two former employees of an Oklahoma County jail and their supervisor after an investigation revealed that they forced inmates to listen to the children’s song “Baby Shark” on repeat for several hours.
The song played loudly for hours while at least 4 inmates stood against a wall while handcuffed, The Oklahoman reported Tuesday. Court records showed that two separate incidents occurred in November and December, according to the Associated Press. (RELATED: ’37 Minutes Later’: Inmates Released From Jail Due To Coronavirus Fears Keep Getting Arrested Again)
Two former detention officers and their supervisor were charged after an investigation found inmates at the Oklahoma County jail were forced to listen to “Baby Shark” on a loop at loud volumes for extended periods of time. https://t.co/Z5IJuIbtCL
— David Mack (@davidmackau) October 6, 2020
Video surveillance revealed that some inmates were in the room for up to two hours, according to The Oklahoman.
21-year-old Oklahoma County jail employees Gregory Cornell Butler Jr. and Christian Charles Miles, and their supervisor, 50-year-old Christopher Raymond Hendershott, are all facing misdemeanor charges, which were filed Monday.
“It was unfortunate that I could not find a felony statute to fit this fact scenario,” District Attorney David Prater said according to the Oklahoman. “I would have preferred filing a felony on this behavior.”
Butler and Miles allegedly imposed the punishment on the inmates, while Hendershott is accused of doing nothing to stop it despite knowing what was going on. Butler and Miles resigned amidst the investigation and Hendershott retired, Sheriff P.D. Taylor said Monday according to The Oklahoman.
“We don’t tolerate” the behavior, Taylor said. “We always did an excellent job policing ourselves.”
Both Butler and Miles were immediately prohibited from having contact with inmates as soon as Taylor found out about the incident, the sheriff said.