Records: Ex-Brownwood juvenile officer body slammed inmate to floor
BROWNWOOD, Texas — Video surveillance footage shows a former juvenile correctional officer lifting an inmate off the ground and body slamming him to the floor, causing injuries to his face, according to court documents.
Morsello Hooker, 30, was arrested by the Texas Rangers on Thursday as part of a statewide effort to crack down on abuses made at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department's many jails.
Hooker, who bonded out of the Brown County Jail Thursday, was charged with official oppression, according to a warrant obtained by KTXS from the county’s Justice of the Peace's office.
The document stated the alleged incident happened on March 1, 2017 at the Ron Jackson State Juvenile Correctional Complex in Brownwood. Hooker was employed there from October 2008 to June 2017, according to a TJJD spokeswoman.
The 16-year-old male victim told investigators that Hooker first restrained him on the ground and he then told Hooker to "do better than that," according to court documents. Hooker then picked him up and slammed him on his head.
Another juvenile correctional officer who witnessed the incident told investigators Hooker slammed the inmate "back down with a lot of force."
Hooker's arrest came after Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation in December into allegations of misconduct at the state's juvenile lockups.
Three other current and former employees were also arrested on Thursday.
One suspect remains at-large and could possibly be out of state, according to the Department of Public Safety.
