Jail guards accused of tormenting inmates with ‘Baby Shark’ on loop

OKLAHOMA CITY — Parents are used to listening to the same song over and over and over again.

But two former jail guards and their supervisor are accused of forcing inmates at the Oklahoma County jail to listen to “Baby Shark."

If the song wasn’t bad enough, the charges claim the song was played on a loop and at a loud volume for a long time, The Oklahoman reported.

The inmates were held in an attorney visitation room at the jail, forced to stand with hands cuffed behind them and attached to a wall, late last year, an investigation found.

BuzzFeed News reported that an affidavit of probable cause said the song was “putting undue emotional stress on the inmates who were most likely already suffering from physical stressors.

The guards and supervisor have been charged with misdemeanor counts of cruelty to a prisoner and conspiracy. District Attorney David Prater said: “It was unfortunate that I could not find a felony statute to fit this fact scenario. I would have preferred filing a felony on this behavior,” The Oklahoman reported.

Sheriff P.D. Taylor said as soon as the allegations came to light, he suspended the three men. The two guards resigned during the internal investigation while the supervisor, a lieutenant, retired.

Cox Media Group