Deputy on tape punching suspect

HOUSTON It happened to Joseph Torres who was in probable cause court at the county jail on August 3rd at 2:30am. He had just sat down in the back of the courtroom after seeing the judge. After propping his foot up on a bench in front of him, a deputy approaches Torres and the incident begins.

WATCH THE INCIDENT IN THE ABOVE VIDEO PLAYER.

The deputy on the videotape, Duane Peterson, 38, is a three year employee of the sheriff's office. He was removed from any contact with inmates after the investigation was launched. Friday he resigned from the sheriff's office.

As for Torres, he's out of jail but the Office of Inspector General is in contact with him. He's said to be cooperating in the investigation which when complete will be forwarded to the DA's office for possible charges.

The sheriff's office tells us the fact that Peterson resigned will not have any effect on the investigation into what happened.

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