A man claims that correctional officers with the Broward Sheriff's Office left him bruised and bloodied following a vicious beating in 2012, and now he's taking both the Sheriff's Office and a medical company that works for them to court over the incident.
Charles Williams was arrested for trespassing in 2012 and was booked into the Broward County Jail. This was well prior to current Sheriff Scott Israel taking office. Williams's mother, Katrina Williams, says her son has a documented history of schizophrenia - something she says the medical team and correctional officers did not properly handle.
According to Williams's attorney, Gregory Durden, Williams had taken a sandwich with him into his room which is considered contraband. When he was approached about the sandwich, Williams became upset. That's when Durden and Williams's family allege he was severely beaten.
"When an inmate gets upset, you don't detain him by hitting him in the face," says Durden. "He was punched in the face and it was so hard it broke the bone in his eye."
Katrina Williams showed a photo of what her son looked like when he was booked into jail versus what he looked like four weeks later upon his release -- his face battered and his eye swollen. She tells NBC 6 that her son was so badly beaten and bruised, he was barely recognizable.
"When I first saw him, I didn't know who he was," Katrina Williams says. "I got out of the car and walked right past him, but he couldn't - he didn't know who I was because he couldn't see at the time. And that's when my daughter started to scream, look at my brother, what happened to him."
Katrina Williams says that correctional officers and medical staff never detected her son's schizophrenia, despite the fact that his condition was well documented.
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"This company is supposed to have people on staff who are trained mental health professionals who can detect somebody with a mental condition," Durden says. "They are also supposed to train the corrections officers on how to detect these things as well."
Katrina Williams says the officer who struck her son was never disciplined.
Meanwhile, Broward Sheriff's Office told NBC 6 they conducted an internal affairs investigation at the time of the alleged incident, and according to court records, they deny the allegations made by Williams's family and his attorney.
"In 2012, detention staff documented two use-of-force incidents involving inmate Charles Williams. As a result, Internal Affairs conducted a review," BSO told NBC 6. "Based on the review, those in charge of Internal Affairs during the former administration did not open an internal affairs investigation.”
According to court filings, the medical provider in question, ARMOR, denies the allegations as well, stating in their defense that Williams's damages were the result of "Plaintiff's (Williams's) own criminal, illegal, unlawful, wrongful, or otherwise culpable conduct."
NBC 6 reached out to ARMOR but they declined to comment further. BSO's legal teams continue to deny the allegations.
The case is scheduled to go to trial in September.
