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Video: Inmate shocked with stun gun 3 times before death

In this March 2011 photo made from surveillance video released by the Harnett County, N.C., Detention Center, inmate Brandon Bethea stands at right before a detention officer shocks him with a stun gun in Lillington, N.C. Bethea died after being hit. The county settled a lawsuit by the family and no charges were filed in the death. (Harnett County Detention Center/The News & Observer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT
In this March 2011 photo made from surveillance video released by the Harnett County, N.C., Detention Center, inmate Brandon Bethea stands at right before a detention officer shocks him with a stun gun in Lillington, N.C. Bethea died after being hit. The county settled a lawsuit by the family and no charges were filed in the death. (Harnett County Detention Center/The News & Observer via AP) MANDATORY CREDIT

By Associated Press 3 min read

LILLINGTON, N.C. (AP) – A jail inmate who was backing away from an officer was shocked with a stun gun three times and left alone for about 20 minutes in a padded cell where he died, according to a video released to a North Carolina newspaper.

The video obtained by The News & Observer of Raleigh (http://bit.ly/24vrHB0 ) appears to contradict some of the statements the sheriff and deputies made after the death.

Jail officers said 24-year-old Brandon Bethea had threatened them and that’s why he was hit with a stun gun in 2011. He had been arrested on charges of rape, illegal weapon possession and armed robbery.

The video shows an officer unlocking Bethea’s handcuffs in the cell, with officer John Clark holding a stun gun behind his back. Clark fired the weapon and two prongs struck Bethea in the chest. Bethea fell down and rolled onto his stomach.

While five officers stood over Bethea, Clark pulled the trigger two more times.