Action News Jax spoke with the brother of the teen who was beaten by a now-arrested Jacksonville sheriff's officer.
Jesus Campos said his brother, Abel Campos, 18, called him from jail Saturday morning about what happened to him and his brother, Elias Campos, 17.
“I was kind of scared,” said Campos. “I thought my brother was hospitalized already or he was in grave danger.”
This was after the physical encounter at a San Marco gas station that led to the arrest of Officer Timothy James.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said Officer James hit Elias Campos multiple times after the teen was already handcuffed and in the back of a police car.
A police sergeant repeatedly asked him to stop and immediately reported the incident to Sheriff's Office supervisors. Both teens were wanted for out-of-county charges.
“His left eye is swollen, but not as much as the right eye,” said Jesus Campos. “He has scrapes as if they would have grabbed him and scraped him along the floor to his face.”
James was charged with battery.
“I wouldn’t consider that a misdemeanor battery,” said Jesus Campos. “I would call that a full physical assault, because my brother had no way to defend himself. He was handcuffed.”
Criminal proceedings against James have begun and will be completed before administrative review can begin, according to the Sheriff's Office.
James has been with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office for nearly three and a half years.
If he decides to return to work, Undersheriff Pat Ivey said he'll be placed in an administrative position.
"He has been defrocked," Ivey said.
Jesus Campos said his family plans to take legal action against the Sheriff's Office and wants James to have a harsher punishment.
“I want this guy to go to jail to pay his time,” said Jesus Campos. “I don’t want him to be a cop anymore. I want him nowhere where he can make contact with an individual and hurt them.”
Cox Media Group
