A former Mississippi police officer pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal misdemeanor charge after he filmed himself forcing a man in custody to drink his own urine.
Michael Christian Green, 26, was serving as a patrolman with the Pearl Police Department in December at the time of the offense. According to court documents first reported by The Daily Beast, Green ordered an arrestee to lick urine off the floor after the man had urinated in his holding cell.
Prosecutors said the man in custody—identified as “B.E.” in court papers—had been arrested on Dec. 23 following a disturbance call at a local Sam’s Club. While waiting to be processed at the Pearl Police Department, B.E. tried to tell Green he needed to use the bathroom before urinating at the back of his cell.
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Later, when Green was informed that someone had urinated in the cell, Green allegedly told B.E.: “You see this phone? I will beat your fucking ass with it. You’re fixin’ to go in there and you’re gonna lick that piss up. Do you understand me?’”
The officer allegedly repeated the order to “suck it up” and filmed as “B.E. got on the ground and licked his urine.” Green also allegedly told B.E. to not “spit it out” as the detained man repeatedly gagged throughout the ordeal.
Pearl officials said the city opened an internal investigation when the incident was discovered, and Green was relieved of his duties by Dec. 27, according to WJTV.
On Thursday, Green pleaded guilty to a count of deprivation of civil rights under color of law. He now faces a maximum sentence of 12 months in prison at his sentencing scheduled for June. 12.
