Forsyth County (NC) Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough publicly apologized for the treatment of a Black man in his custody one day before the court-ordered release of video showing the prisoner being hog-tied, the Associated Press reports.
"While mistakes were made that day, the truth is the truth," the sheriff said.
57-year-old John Neville's ankles were tied together and pulled up to his back, where they were tied to ropes binding his hands, and he was laid on his chest on the floor. Neville said no fewer than 26 times that he couldn't breath.
Neville was taken to the hospital after his restraint, where he died of a brain injury three days after his arrest for a misdemeanor related to the assault of a woman.
"Your father has changed the way health care will be dispensed at the Forsyth County Detention Center as well as how it will be dispensed throughout this region," the sheriff said to Neville's son.
Five former detention officers and a nurse were charged last month with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Neville's death.