CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A former Southern Regional Jail corrections officer pleaded guilty Thursday to using excessive force against inmates over a two-year span.
U.S. Attorneys said Nathaniel Pack, 29, served at the jail in Beaver, W.Va. and used “unreasonable and unjustified force against inmates” seven different times between April 2020 and March 2022. Pack was charged with taking inmates to a “blind spot” interview room — where surveillance cameras did not capture footage — and joining other officers in beating up those individuals without being surveilled.
According to the release from U.S. Attorneys, Pack and officers retaliated with severe force to several different incidents — including inmates kicking cell doors, not following verbal commands, calling an officer a slur, and attempting to leave their pod by pushing an officer. As part of his guilty plea, Pack admitted that he and other officers gave false reports to justify the injuries that inmates suffered.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for Southern West Virginia joined Deputy Chief Christine M. Siscaretti from the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division as the prosecution.
Pack will be sentenced December 4 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. He’ll also be fined up to $250,000.