(CN) - A former sheriff's deputy in Mississippi pleaded guilty Thursday to unlawfully Tasing an inmate in the Tate County Jail, causing him to fall and fracture his skull.
Prosecutors said that on Jan. 27, 2012, Randy Doss was among the Tate County sheriff's deputies who was investigating an incident in which an inmate at that jail was assaulted with a razor.
During the investigation, corrections officers entered a pod where inmates are housed and ordered the occupants to stand against the wall with their hands over their heads. It was then, prosecutors said, that Doss, with no provocation, Tased a pre-trial detainee identified as J.W. from a distance of 11 feet.
"The victim fell backward and hit his head on the concrete floor, necessitating brain surgery. The incident was captured on video," the U.S. Justice Department said in a written statement.
Doss, 63, had more than 20 years of experience in law enforcement at the time of the incident, and was a certified Taser instructor.
A grand jury sitting in Oxford, Mississippi indicted him of a single count of violating J.W.'s right not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law.
U.S. District Judge Michael Mills set a sentencing date of Feb. 18, 2016. Doss faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and three years of supervised release.
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