With the whites of his eyes still dark red and bruising beneath his eyelids, 29-year-old Jacob Servin is asking for justice.
The Stockton man, who works as a pipe maintenance handler, showed ABC10 pictures taken of himself shortly after he was released from the San Joaquin County Jail late Monday morning.
The photos showed a puffy, bruised and bloody face. Servin says his nose is also broken. "They didn't go in there to try and give me a beating. They went in there trying to kill me," said Servin. "Me speaking up and saying something — this is what I deserve? This is what I get?"
Servin says he went to Basil's pub on Grand Canal Boulevard near March Lane in Stockton with a friend around midnight Sunday. About an hour later, after having a couple of drinks, Servin said he got into the passenger side of his car, his friend sitting behind the wheel.
Servin said he was sitting when he was suddenly approached by a Stockton Police Officer. "We were being subdued for no reason," Servin explained.
Servin was arrested for public intoxication and taken to the San Joaquin County Jail.
His booking photo, sent to ABC10 by the Stockton Police Department, shows no visible injuries before he was turned over to the San Joaquin Sheriff’s custody.
It was a short time later Servin says he was assaulted by three deputies at the jail and repeatedly called a “terrorist” and an “Arab.” Servin says he is of Native American and Mexican descent.
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"I was tossed around for like 20 minutes — 30 minutes,” Servin recalled. “Like, you have to punch somebody a lot for this to happen.”
San Joaquin County Sheriff Pat Withrow told ABC10 that Servin’s story does not add up with what his deputies say happened.
Withrow said Servin was non-compliant with deputies, verbally abusive and refused to cooperate and comply. Servin was later escorted to a temporary holding cell.
"He grabbed hold of the female officer and refused to let go of her during the fight and tried to drag her to the ground,” Withrow told ABC10 Wednesday. “He kicked several other officers in the chest and other parts of their body.”
Withrow said the jail books about 23,000 people every year and incidents like this are unusual. But Withrow said he’s reluctant to call what his deputies did excessive.
The sheriff’s department has already started an investigation into what happened inside the cell, and video from the booking area should be released soon. Withrow said there are no cameras inside of the jail cells because of state law.
A sheriff's department spokesperson says correctional officers in the San Joaquin County Jail do not wear body cams.
"That’s why we do investigations to make sure the truth comes out,” Withrow said.
Meanwhile, Servin told ABC10 that he is seeking legal help in order to "get justice."
"If I assaulted any staff in jail, I would still be in jail, and I would have that charge on me right now," said Servin.
Follow the conversation on Facebook with Kurt Rivera.
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