'It brought tears to my eyes:' Sister of beaten inmate says she wants justice

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Family members of a man beaten by several correctional officers at a state prison in Lake County told News 6 what happened to him was wrong. 

His family identified the inmate as Otis Miller. Court records show Miller has been in prison since 2002 on drug charges and battery on a law enforcement officer. 

"You can’t just attack people like animals because this is what you want to do. This can be anybody’s family member," said Miller's sister, Shantel Grace. "It brought tears to my eyes."

Cellphone video of the attack was posted on YouTube over the weekend. An inmate shot the cellphone video. The video shows one officer punching Miller multiple times. 

The Florida Department of Corrections told News 6 an investigation has now been launched by the state inspector general's office. FDOC said the officers seen in the video can’t work around inmates and they can’t return to full duty until after the investigation is over. 

Secretary Mark Inch said, “This video is deeply disturbing. We have zero tolerance for officer abuse or misconduct for any reason. The actions of these individuals will not be tolerated."

The victim's sister said she fought to get the investigation going. She said after the beating, someone reached out to her anonymously.

"I contacted Tallahassee. Me and my brothers wrote letters for them to do an investigation," Grace said. "When I showed up, I caught them off guard because they wanted to know how did I know that he was in confinement." 

His family said legal action may be on the way. 

"I want charges pressed against those people because I want to make sure this doesn’t happen to anybody else and people get the message that this is not good to do," Grace said.

FDOC told News 6 that Miller has been transferred to a different prison. 

No charges have been filed against the corrections officer.

News 6 will keep you posted on how the investigation plays out.