Inmate launches federal civil suit against jail guards

APPLING COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - An inmate is suing the jail guards his attorneys say stood by while another guard choked him with a chain.

All this - coming just over two weeks after video of the incident was made public.

WTOC is not using that video in full because it could be disturbing to viewers.

You’re looking at images shared by attorneys for Tremar Harris - they say these are stills from the security footage inside the Appling county Jail.

For context - the legal team says Harris was in a solitary confinement cell at the time of the incident.

They have already filed a lawsuit against the man standing behind him back in January.

They identify him as William Rentz - the man the Georgia Bureau of Investigation arrested in this case back in February of 2022.

Rentz is indicted with battery and violating his Oath of Office.

The lawsuit filed Tuesday says he was fired from the Appling County jail.

As mentioned - Tuesday’s lawsuit was filed at the federal level against the three other jailers standing in that room.

That lawsuit claims Harris’ constitutional rights were violated because the officers not only allowed Rentz to assault Harris, but also did not document and report it.

WTOC has reached out to the GBI and the district attorney’s office for Appling County to see where the case against Rentz stands.

We’ll update this story when we hear back.

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