Three former inmates are suing the management staff of an Oklahoma County Jail after they were forced to listen to the viral song “Baby Shark.”
According to court documents obtained by Insider, Daniel Hedrick, Joseph “Joey” Mitchell, and John Basco filed a federal complaint on Tuesday seeking $75,000 in damages from Sheriff Tommie Johnson III, Oklahoma County commissioners, the jail trust, and two former detention officers.
All three inmates were allegedly tied and forced to stand against a wall for hours in 2019 while “Baby Shark” was played on repeat at a high volume.
Clinical psychologist John Mayer stated in an article published in the journal Health that songs like “Baby Shark” might “elicit a painful reaction in the brain” because they contain “high-pitched tones” and “screechy” sounds that irritate the ears, stated the lawsuit.
The lawsuit also noted how loud music was previously used to “harm and harass” detainees in Auschwitz and Guantanamo Bay.
Three guards were charged with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a prisoner and conspiracy in 2020 for repeatedly exposing Hedrick, Mitchell, Basco, and a fourth convict to “Baby Shark.”
According to court filings, prosecutors claimed the penalty caused “undue emotional stress on the inmates” and was “cruel and inhumane.”
Gregory Butler and Christian Miles, the two officers involved, resigned after an internal probe, according to the sheriff’s department who managed the facility. Christopher Hendershott, their supervisor, retired. The detention center was previously run by the sheriff’s office, but in July, a trust took over the operation.
