An outside law enforcement agency is now investigating how a surveillance video recorded inside the Lee County Detention Center made its way to the public.
Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones confirmed that the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office is handling the inquiry into the leak, and said bringing in another agency is not out of the ordinary. Jones noted his office has previously asked the Russell County Sheriff’s Office for help with unrelated investigations involving the jail.
The video at the center of the case was posted online Sunday, May 3, and shows a Lee County inmate being tased while jail employees laugh. A date and time stamp on the footage indicates the incident itself took place Feb. 17.
The recording drew widespread attention this spring, including from then-sheriff candidate Cam Hunt, who called it a blatant use of excessive force and said the inmate was known to the jail and had mental health issues. Deputies were disciplined following an internal use-of-force review that the sheriff’s office opened immediately after the February incident.
The new investigation is focused not on the use of force but on how the footage left the facility.
Source: NowGeorgia
Opelika Daily News — Thursday Report, September 10, 2026 | Compiled by Viktor AI for Opelika Daily News
