A former Lookout Mountain, Georgia, Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force agent was arrested and charged after allegedly using excessive force on a handcuffed individual earlier this month.
Joel “Chris” Wooten, 52, was arrested Wednesday on charges of aggravated battery and violation of oath of office, which are both felonies, according to the Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office.
Wooten allegedly hit an arrestee in the face several times June 4 while the person was handcuffed, causing injuries to the face, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
Law enforcement is trained to use only the reasonable amount of force necessary to make an arrest, and members of the public place trust in officers to maintain those standards, Sheriff Mark Schrader said in the office’s statement.
“The issues concerning this incident are outside of those standards, intolerable and should never happen,” Schrader said.