The plea supports a recent onslaught of reports that depict a rampant culture of abuse among the local sheriff’s department in Walker County, in a rural region of northern Alabama.

Carl Lofton Carpenter, 55, agreed to plead guilty to two counts of deprivation of rights, according to the plea. Carpenter and fellow Walker County Sheriff’s Deputy James Handley arrested Tony Mitchell in 2023. Mitchell died in the Walker County jail just two weeks later after he was detained in a concrete cell covered in feces with no toilet or access to medical attention.

Carpenter stepped on Mitchell’s genitals while he was handcuffed, saying, “This is how we treat seizures in Walker County,” according to the plea document. Carpenter then dragged Mitchell on the ground, kicked him and threw him roughly into the police car.