Fired Citronelle police officer arrested, charged with assaulting inmate

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The Citronelle Police Officer who was fired after he was accused of beating a man in custody has been arrested.

On Wednesday, Jason Meade was booked into Mobile County Metro Jail on a charged of second-degree assault.

Meade was terminated from his position on October 8 after a confrontation in a cell with an inmate. Citronelle Mayor Jason Stringer said he immediately fired the officer after watching a video of the incident.

The victim of the beating, Bryant King, was behind bars after he was arrested on a 2015 warrant for a traffic violation. He told FOX10 News that he believes the beating was because he kept asking for a blanket.

“I knocked on the door again and he (Meade) said stop beating on the door and from there he came in and put his arms around me and he choked me,” said King. “The first time I pushed him back in self-defense.”

In a phone call with FOX10 News reporter Tyler Fingert, Meade claimed there was a scuffle in the cell, but said he followed protocol.

Meade said King tried to grab him first, which is why the former officer said he put his hands around King’s neck to try and force him to the ground. Meade also claimed King was drunk and was in isolation which is why he was not allowed to have a blanket. King denies that.

“I am a person where I don’t react toward the law, I respect the law so for this to happen to me, somebody needs to know the truth,” King said.

Meade had only been with the Citronelle Police Department for just four months before the incident. He previously worked at multiple departments throughout Mobile County, including Mount Vernon, Dauphin Island, Creola, and Prichard.

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