A white corrections officer in southwestern Indiana seen on body camera footage beating a black inmate during a fight has been fired.
Monroe County Sheriff Ruben Martè said Friday that the decision to fire James Mitchell was part of his pledge to make “accountability and transparency” a “top priority” of the sheriff’s department.
Mitchell and two other Bloomington County Jail officers were trying to move Marcus Ford from a holding cell to a medical observation cell on Jan. 31 after the inmate complained of health problems to facility nurses.
ALABAMA CORRECTIONS OFFICER POSTED ON LICENSE AFTER VIDEO SHOWS HIM PUNCHING A DISTRESSED INMATE
Ford refuses to come out of the holding cell. In footage released by the sheriff’s office, Ford is seen threatening officers if they try to move him.
“As soon as you touch me, it falls off,” says Ford. “They better know how to fight.”
An Indiana corrections officer was fired after video showed him beating an inmate during a fight.
He later repeats, “I’m not going in that room. I’m not going in that room.”
As the officers move in, Mitchell is hit in the mouth and suffers a bloody lip. He is seen throwing punches at Ford’s head and beating Ford as other officers restrain the inmate.
Martè said Ford suffered a broken nose and orbital bone.
VERMONT SHERIFF’S OFFICE CAPTAIN UNDER INVESTIGATION FOR KICKING ARRESTED MAN IN THE GROIN
A document detailing the decision to fire Mitchell claims he failed to transition to nonviolent strategies, failed to reduce the need to use force and failed to comply when twice told to leave the area, WTTV-TV reported. .
“No prison officer wants to have to use force when they come to work,” Martè said. “But even when my staff is forced to use force because of a combative inmate, they must continue to follow our policies that call for de-escalation whenever the situation allows.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Martè ordered an internal review and asked the state police to conduct an independent investigation. The state police presented their findings to the county attorney, who decided not to file criminal charges against Mitchell.
