West Virginia (AP)- A former officer pleaded guilty to civil rights violations following the death of a man in custody.
Authorities booked Quantez Burks into the Southern Regional Jail on a wanton endangerment charge in March 2022.
According to court documents, Burks attempted to push past an officer to leave his housing unit.
Officers took Burks to an interview room, where they allegedly assaulted him while he was still in handcuffs.
As part of a plea agreement, Mark Holdren admitted to conspiring with other officers to beat Burks as retaliation.
Burks had been booked into SRJ less than a day before his death.
Holdren admitted to his role in the assault, stating that he knew that the interview room had no surveillance cameras.
He further confessed that he knew it was improper for officers to use such force to punish inmates and pretrial detainees.
Court documents reveal Holdren knew officers were bringing inmates and pretrial detainees to the interview room to punish them for misconduct without being caught on video.
Holdren faces up to 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
