Witness Speaks Out About Alleged Oklahoma Co. Jail Beating

A woman serving time inside the Oklahoma County jail said she saw an inmate, now allegedly paralyzed, moments after a fight with correctional officers. 

That woman is speaking out. 

This is the first time News 9 is hearing from someone who was inside the jail and saw Marcus Thurman shortly after he was allegedly beaten. 

Thurman's family says he remains at OU Medical Center and has undergone two surgeries. 

“We received a call saying he’s not okay, we need to get to the hospital because he’s in bad condition,” Ottice Davis, Thurman’s uncle, said. 

But this family wasn't expecting Thurman to be paralyzed from the neck down.

“To look at him, you would have to know that he wasn’t faking,” said former inmate Lanna McKenzie. 

McKenzie said she was taken in for marijuana possession Saturday night. During her processing, she said she saw Thurman slumped in a wheelchair unable to move. 

“So then they just come over, one on each side, and they just picked him up by his shirt, not by his body by any means, by his shirt, very forcefully out of that chair,” McKenzie said. “Was telling him to stand up and he was like, 'no man, no man, I can’t, I can’t.' So they forced him and dragged him over across the room.” 

At the time, McKenzie says she had no idea Thurman may be paralyzed. 

“The whole time he was sitting in that chair, I watched his motor skills, his motor actions, and they never changed from that paralyzed position,” McKenzie said. 

Thurman's family said he told them his neck was broken during a fight with correctional officers.

“You already had him locked up in handcuffs, why would you want to beat him, why would you want to hurt him like that,” said Thurman’s grandmother Rose Hill. 

“I just couldn’t believe that they’re allowed to treat people that way, no matter what your crime is,” McKenzie said. 

The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office said an internal affairs organization is looking over surveillance video from inside of the jail. 

An investigation is underway.