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Man Attacked By Jail Guard 'Felt Helpless, Defenseless'

CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man who was attacked by a guard at Cook County Jail two years ago has spoken out for the first time since the officer was charged in the beating.

With his 9-month-old son in his arms, Litroy Bolton recalled the night in January 2014. After he had been jailed on a marijuana charge, correctional officers were transferring him to a new cell.

As Officer Miguel Ortiz began to place Bolton into a cell, another officer said it wasn't safe because it was "under quarantine."

"Maybe somebody was sick, it was contagious, but at that time, Officer Ramos did inform Ortiz not to put me in there," Bolton said.

Bolton refused to enter the cell, and Ortiz threw him to the ground and punched him numerous times.

"I just felt helpless, defenseless, like I couldn't do nothing, was nothing going to happen about this, ain't nothing going to never ever happen, and they just going to beat me up, and they're going to get away with it," Bolton said.

RTU Incident by Cook County Sheriff on Vimeo

RTU Incident from Cook County Sheriff on Vimeo.

The beating was caught on surveillance cameras, but despite the incident happening in 2014, Ortiz was not charged with a crime until Thursday. The Cook County Sheriff's Office moved to fire him in March, four months after investigators found he had used excessive force.

Bolton's attorney, Vince Field, said the Office of Professional Review, which was tasked with investigating the incident, dragged out the case for more than two and a half years.

"That delay can't be just measured in time. It's measured in the assaults on other inmates as well," he said.

Field said a Freedom of Information Act request for documents related to Ortiz revealed he assaulted 10 other inmates at the jail from the time of the attack on Bolton until he was de-deputized last year.

Ortiz has been charged with felony official misconduct and misdemeanor battery for the attack on Bolton.

Investigators said video of the incident contradicted Ortiz's claims Bolton took a fighting stance before he was struck.

Ortiz was found to have assaulted ten other inmates before he was de-deputized in 2015.

Despite the lengthy wait for charges, Bolton said he hopes this will put an end to a string of violence in the jail.

"I'm happy, because who's to say if he beat up anybody else and it never even got reported?" Bolton said.

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