Ex-guard accused of pepper-spraying inmate over lawsuit

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A former Tennessee correctional officer is accused of pepper-spraying an inmate for joining a lawsuit that said the jail was not treating a scabies outbreak.

The Tennessean reports 24-year-old Oluwatobi Oja was arrested Monday and charged with assault. Former inmate James Nelson filed a lawsuit Wednesday that says the jail operator, CoreCivic, allowed the attack.

Nelson says Oja dragged him out of bed last year when he was serving time at Nashville’s largest jail for aggravated assault. He says Oja learned he joined the scabies lawsuit and pepper-sprayed him. The class-action scabies lawsuit says CoreCivic did little to prevent or treat hundreds of infected inmates.

Court records say the attack was recorded and led to Oja’s firing last year. Oja has argued it was self-defense. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer. CoreCivic declined to comment to the newspaper.