BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) – Detectives with the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office arrested a former EBRSO prison deputy Sunday evening. He’s accused of hitting an inmate in the face with a metal folding chair during an altercation.

The sheriff’s office said Aaron Johnson, 26, began hitting an inmate during a fight that broke out shortly before noon Sunday. Detectives say the inmate was taken to a hospital for treatment and left with multiple facial fractures.

According to an official report, Johnson denied hitting the inmate and said he “did not know how the victim sustained his injuries.”

Authorities say a second, unidentified deputy also was involved in the altercation and at least three witnesses reported seeing Johnson’s involvement in the fight.

According to EBRSO, Johnson worked as a prison deputy from April 2022 until he was fired Sunday.

He was charged with malfeasance in office and aggravated second-degree battery.