TAMPA, Fla. — Two corrections officers were fired after a video said to be recorded inside Hamilton Correctional Institution, a Florida state prison located in the panhandle, showed an inmate being slapped twice.
A source led the ABC Action News I-Team to the video posted on social media on Friday.
I-TEAM | Crisis in Corrections
Ian Manuel confirmed he posted the video, showing what appears to be two correctional officers and an inmate. One of the men slaps the inmate two times. Manuel said a prisoner from Hamilton C.I. sent him the video, alleging a "power slap game" is being used to abuse inmates in confinement.
Monday morning, the Department of Corrections told ABC Action News' Kylie McGivern that both officers in the video have been dismissed and are now under criminal investigation by the Florida DOC Office of Inspector General.
The I-Team has asked for more information about the investigation, the names of the correctional officers involved, and what's happened to the inmate(s) who recorded the video. FDC said since this is an open investigation, further information is not available at this time.
The I-Team will continue to follow up.
State Representative Dianne Hart (D-Tampa) visited Hamilton Correctional Institution the same day the video was posted and said it was "one of the worst visits she's had in a very, very long time."
Hart told the I-Team the illegally shot video forced corrections to act fast.
“Wouldn’t have happened like this. I’m absolutely certain of that," Hart said. “I can tell you that that is a very dangerous thing for inmates to do, however, if they were not doing that — how would we know. You know what I’m saying? There would be no way for us to know when things are happening if they were not caught on camera.”
This story started with a tip. If you have something you'd like the I-Team to investigate, email kylie.mcgivern@wfts.com.
