A Mississippi police officer has been charged with forcing a person who was being booked in jail to lick urine off the floor of a holding cell, federal prosecutors alleged in court documents filed this month.
Michael Christian Green was charged with one federal count of deprivation of rights under color of law, according to a criminal information filed earlier this month.
The document alleges that Green, who was a patrolman for the Pearl Police Department, forced someone to lick urine off the cell floor after a December arrest.
The man, who was being booked after a disturbance at a Sam’s Club on Dec. 23, knocked on the door of a holding cell and said he needed to urinate, prosecutors wrote.
After a period of time, the man urinated in a corner, the document states. Green allegedly threatened to beat him with a phone and commanded him to “lick it up,” prosecutors wrote.
Green stood in a doorway while the man, who gagged and later vomited in a trash can, did so, the document says. Green recorded it on his cellphone, prosecutors wrote.
Green was charged by criminal information this month, but the case was unsealed Wednesday, according to court records. Informations are typically used by the Justice Department to charge in cases where people have agreed to plead guilty.
Green’s attorney did not immediately return requests for comment Wednesday night. Court records do not indicate a plea, ad an initial appearance was scheduled for Thursday.
A Pearl Police Department spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking more details about Green’s employment or status Wednesday night.
Pearl is a city of around 27,000 east of Jackson.
