Christopher Shaw was paralyzed from the chest down after being body slammed on the ground by police.
It took three whole years for the world to see what happened to Christopher Shaw, a Black man who was left paralyzed after a violent interaction with the Beaumont, Tex. police. The county was reluctant to release of the surveillance footage until the NAACP put its foot down, demanding transparency.
In June 2020, 41-year-old Shaw was in custody for public intoxication at the Jefferson County Correctional Facility. The video shows him in apparent distress while handcuffed behind his back before being escorted into the jail by a group of Beaumont deputies. One officer, identified as James Thomas Gillen, dropped the paperwork in his hands, wrung his arm around Shaw’s neck and body slammed him onto the concrete.
The county finally released the video footage of the incident on Wednesday, only after being hounded by the media and being named in a lawsuit filed by the NAACP of Beaumont this summer accusing Jefferson County Sheriff Zena Stephens of violating the state’s Public Information Act.
“This is an action seeking a writ of mandamus or, alternatively, declaratory relief, concerning a violation of the Texas Public Information Act — by Respondent Zena Stephens, in her official capacity as Sheriff of Jefferson County, Texas. Petitioner contends that the Respondent refused to perform her statutory duty to make public records in her possession available for inspection and copying,” the suit read.
According to the lawsuit Shaw filed in 2022, he was transported to the hospital for what was assumed to be a spinal cord injury or paralysis. However, he was released back to the jail still unable to control the lower half of his body. The suit claims he was left lying on the floor of his cell in his own feces and urine, ignored by the jail and medical staff.
Shaw was charged with assault on a peace officer which he pleaded guilty this summer. His attorneys — civil rights giants Benjamin Crump, Harry Daniels and Chance Lynch — say he was threatened with over 20 years in prison despite his condition.
“Considering his current condition, Mr. Shaw felt that it was in his best interest to receive a deferred prosecution sentence which will eventually result in all charges being dismissed completely,” reads the statement from his attorneys.
link: https://www.theroot.com/horrifying-footage-shows-texas-police-paralyze-black-ma-1851028314
note: video is graphic, and will not autoplay but just read above if you don't want a chance of seeing it