Four corrections officers are facing criminal charges after a bar brawl. The officers were arrested just after midnight Saturday morning but were back to work last week. A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections says they haven't decided what punishment, if any, the four men will face.
Bradford County sheriff's deputies have had trouble at the bar in the past and while out patrolling they stopped by to check on the place. Moments after they walked inside, officers say the fight broke out. It's the second fight at George's bar involving corrections officers since September.
Deputies say in this case, corrections officers Kevin Barfield and Robert Bonsall were exchanging blows with Robert Craven of Starke. Bradford county deputies say they tried to get the men to break it up, but the fighting continued until a deputy pulled out a taser to use on Craven and Officer Barfield. Lt. Bear Bryan of the Bradford County Sheriff's Office, says "After the fight was semi broken up they still had some other problems with some other individuals who refused to leave after being asked to do so."
That is what landed corrections officers Edwin Johnson and Joey Hill behind bars.
According to arrest reports, when deputies told Johnson to leave the bar, he challenged them by saying "Put me in jail" and "I don't have to listen to you." Similarly, deputies say Hill yelled out profanity at them and the bar owner, as well as threatened them by saying "Don't let me see you on the street."
All of the men are facing misdemeanor charges and have already bonded out of jail. A DOC spokesperson says they plan to wait on the criminal charges to be dealt with, before conducting their own internal investigation.