2 prison guards arrested on battery charges

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Two North Florida corrections officers were arrested Wednesday and face losing their jobs in a June incident that involved spraying two inmates with chemical agents and slamming the inmates to the floor, according to the Department of Corrections.

Suwannee Correctional Institution officers Kiree Twiggs and Jo Ann Lopez were charged with battery and falsifying official records, the department said Wednesday in a news release. They are accused in a June 15 incident that involved summoning two inmates into a dormitory foyer at the prison.

Twiggs alleged that inmate James Saunders hit inmate Robert Dunlow. After the inmates refuted the allegation, Twigg became agitated and instructed both men to submit to hand restraints.

Twiggs is accused of ordering Lopez to administer chemical agents to the men and then slamming the inmates to the floor, according to an arrest affidavit released by the department.

The guards are also accused of submitting false information to justify the use of force.