CLEVELAND, Ohio — A Cuyahoga County Jail corrections officer faces discipline after being accused of threatening an inmate who interviewed with a U.S. Marshals-led team investigating conditions at the beleaguered jail.

Brandon Smith, a corrections officer who is part of the jail’s Special Response Team, nicknamed “The Men in Black” because of the paramilitary gear they wear in the jail, threatened an inmate, called him a “snitch” and shoved him, according to disciplinary records obtained by cleveland.com.

The documents say Smith, who has been a corrections officers since October 2013,faces a range of punishments up to firing after his Jan. 10 disciplinary hearing.

Smith denied calling the inmate a snitch in interviews with investigators, according to the documents. A phone and email message sent to the Ohio Police Benevolent Association, the union that represents Cuyahoga County’s corrections officers, were not returned.

He remains on active duty, Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said. Madigan initially said the county had no disciplinary records existed for the case. Once told by a reporter that the records existed, Madigan later said they did exist, but that the county’s law department would have to approve the files for release. The county provided a redacted copy of the records after cleveland.com published the story.

The U.S. Marshals in their report – released in November after seven of eight jail inmates died – said the SRT team frequently threatened, harassed and intimidated inmates and used excessive force while forcing inmates out of their cells.

The marshals report described a chilling scene where members of the specialized team escorted inmates to interviews with the U.S marshals’ investigators, and officers threatened and intimidated the prisoners and called them “snitches.”

The intimidation was so pervasive that guards bullied inmates in full view of the marshals' investigators. The behavior concerned investigators, prompting them to request that 10 inmates get released from the jail “for fear of SRT members retaliation, and the legitimate fear of detainee/inmate safety.”

The incident involving Smith happened about 6:40 a.m. on Nov. 1, the records say. The inmate — a 29-year-old suspected member of the Lakeshore Boys gang who is charged with aggravated murder— asked for a nurse to test his blood-sugar, the records say.

Surveillance footage showed Smith let the inmate out of his cell, according to the documents. The inmate walked to the medical cart, got his blood sugar checked and began talking with someone off camera, the records say.

A witness told investigators that the inmate asked Smith if he could call his attorney and Smith told him that he couldn’t because he was busy that day, the records say. The inmate told Smith: “You can’t deny me from talking to my lawyer,” according to the records.

Smith replied: “Man shut up. You are a snitch anyway,” the records say.

Smith walked up to the inmate, grabbed him and shoved him into a glass wall. Smith tried to handcuff the inmate, but stopped and pushed him as other SRT officers arrived to help, according to the documents.

The inmate told investigators that Smith had repeatedly called him a snitch after he interviewed with “an outside agency that was here this week,” according to the records. The marshals conducted their investigation Oct. 30 through Nov.1.

Smith told investigators that the inmate had been disrespectful from the moment he woke him up to take a shower, the records say.

Smith and several other corrections officers told investigators that inmate threatened Smith after he refused to allow him to call his attorney. He said he pushed the inmate against the wall after the inmate took “an aggressive stance,” according to the records.

Smith never reported shoving the inmate, but admitted to it in an interview with investigators, according to the documents. In a written statement, he said he didn’t believe he needed to report the push, because he didn’t believe it rose to the level of a use-of-force that needed special documentation. The inmate was not hurt during the incident.

The inmate eventually got an insulin shot and was taken back to his cell.

Smith has no discipline in the last three years, according to the records.