Inmate Washed with Pressure Washer Suing Houston County and Deputies Involved

WARNER ROBINS, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Houston County and several deputies are being slapped with a lawsuit by an inmate who was pressure washed in the jail.

Surveillance video of the incident shows it was about 5:30 on June 9, 2012 when a deputy pressure washed Christopher Holt, a former inmate of the Houston County Jail.

A few weeks after the sheriff found out about the incident, 41NBC spoke with Chief Deputy Billy Rape. He told us deputies said Holt was spreading feces on himself, and the walls of the jail, and that’s why they used the machine.

Holt’s attorney Jim Creasy says watching someone aim a pressure washer at his client’s genitals, made him feel sick.

“Nauseated, embarrassed, really honestly embarrassed that law enforcement and people in Georgia treat others like that,” said Creasy.

If you go back a few seconds in the video before the washing starts, you’ll see Holt crawling around a rubber padded cell. Creasy called his behavior at the time abnormal because he says Holt is mentally ill.

When he was in custody in Houston County, Creasy says no one gave Holt his prescribed medication.

“That’s disturbing in and of itself, and when you combine that with the pressure washer and the treatment of the inmate at the time. It’s kind of disgusting,” said Creasy.

On Friday morning, Creasy and his associate Alex Johnson filed a lawsuit in state court on Holt’s behalf. It names seven Houston County Deputies, and the county itself as the defendants.

“We don’t file lawsuits that we’re not confident in. I don’t sue governments for fun,” said Creasy.

It states they violated his rights when they treated him with cruel and unusual punishment spraying him for amusement, and aiming that pressure washer at his genital area.

“Officers just came in and started tracking him with a pressure washer you can see it in the video,” said Johnson.

Surveillance video from outside of the cell shows several deputies watching the scene. The lawsuit states those deputies were seen laughing at Holt.

“What we’re trying to do is to make Christopher Holt whole again from his injuries, and to make sure it doesn’t happen again to anyone,” said Johnson.

Holt is seeking money for damages, but Creasy says you can’t put a price on the damage done to his client.

“Looking back on that and thinking, yea I was treated pretty much like animal, well I was treated worse than an animal, that’s something you really can’t ever undo,” said Creasy.

The lawyers are also asking the defendants to find Holt’s complaint that he filed with a deputy at the jail about the incident. According to a document in the lawsuit, the paper “disappeared” after the deputy said he either threw it away or took it home.