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Addressing the arrests of two deputies accused of assaulting an inmate, Richmond County Sheriff Richard Roundtree said Wednesday his agency has no problem locking up jailers who cross the line.

At a news conference, he played surveillance video of the assault, which happened Thursday at Charles B. Webster Detention Center.

Roundtree said two deputies responded to an emergency medical assistance call. When they arrived, they found the inmate, who had a history of faking medical calls, lying on the floor, he said.

The video shows two deputies carrying an inmate through a day area, then suddenly setting him on the floor against a wall and relentlessly punching him with both of their fists before picking him up and dragging him through a doorway.

Deputies Gerardo Sanchez Jr., 28, and Joshua Jackson, 21, were fired after an internal affairs investigation, plus both were charged with simple battery and violation of oath of office, the agency said Tuesday.

“We found it to be extremely egregious,” Roundtree said Wednesday at a news conference. “I found it to be disheartening.”

He noted that the inmate was complying and that the attack wasn’t physically provoked. And he said deputies should not be set off by verbal statements.

Roundtree says as a leader, he’s taking full responsibility.

“We will own our mistakes take corrective action and get right back in the fight,” he said.

“This is a wake-up call for us, a wake-up call for our 700-plus other employees. ... This kind of behavior is not our culture, is not our way,” Roundtree said.

In the past year, 12 Richmond County deputies have been arrested, including six on allegations of excessive force.

He said the agency is trying to identify gaps in training and culture that might lead to such behavior by officers.

He said while the agency is conducting training, “I just think that maybe we’re not doing enough to reinforce” the core values and culture the agency wants to instill in officers.

He wants that to change within the next 30 days.

He’s looking into more training and more counseling sessions.

“We’re going to have to put something in place that we go back and keep reinforcing our core values, that this is kind of agency we want to be,” Roundtree said. “This will not be tolerated at this agency.”