Former Mississippi cop sentenced for forcing arrestee to lick urine off floor

PEARL, Miss. (TCN) -- A former police officer received the maximum sentence after he made an arrestee lick urine off the floor of a holding cell.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Mississippi announced June 12 that a judge sentenced 26-year-old Michael Green to 12 months in federal prison for acting under color of law to deprive a person of his civil rights. He pleaded guilty to the charge in March.

According to The Associated Press, Green arrested the victim, identified in court documents only by his initials, B.E., on Dec. 23, 2023, following an alleged disturbance at a store. While in a holding cell, B.E. reportedly told Green he had to use the restroom, and he eventually urinated in the corner after waiting a while.

Investigators obtained surveillance footage allegedly revealing Green threatening to physically harm the arrestee with a phone. According to court documents reviewed by The Associated Press, Green told B.E. to lick the urine, telling him to "suck it up." Green reportedly recorded videos of the man using his phone. B.E. gagged numerous times, to which Green allegedly said, "Don’t spit it out."

Green was an active law enforcement officer with the Pearl Police Department at the time, according to federal prosecutors. However, after the surveillance footage of the incident surfaced several days later, he reportedly lost his job. He had worked for the department for approximately six months and was previously employed with other law enforcement agencies in the area, The Associated Press reports.