Washington County Lt. Edwin Graybeal III is facing criminal charges of assault, oppression, and official misconduct for slapping a handcuffed prisoner. His father, Washington County Sheriff Edwin Graybeal II, suspended him without pay pending the outcome of the charges against him. The event was caught on a video that was leaked to the press before he was indicted by a grand jury. The Washington County Sheriff's Office (WCSO) was not going to pursue the matter at all until the video was anonymously leaked to News Channel 11. Then the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) launched its own investigation that led to the indictment.
The video shows an inmate mouthing off to Graybeal until he lost it and slapped the inmate. Now that the video is public the WCSO is in damage control mode. Chief Deputy Leighta Leitinen went on camera admitting that Graybeal violated the WCSO's use of force policy because "you can't use force for someone calling you bad names." It appears that the WCSO will hold its people accountable if undeniable proof of misconduct is obtained AND that evidence is shared with the media.