Hi, Steve Wagner from Wagner Reese here.
We just saw on the news that there has been another incident of excessive
force inside an Indiana prison or jail. This time it was the Pendleton
Correctional Facility and three officers were caught on camera punching
an inmate. Apparently the cameras were newly installed and they didn’t
know it was there.
Here’s the story:
At the Pendleton Correctional Facility are now facing felony charges. They’re
accused in the beating inmate, David Lee Perry last night. Surveillance
cameras capture this. The video shows the handcuffed inmate led into the
cell, where inside he is allegedly punched in the face and then shoved
into a brick wall. He had a broken jaw and other injuries. The Madison
County Prosecutor, Rodney Cummings says the beating was supposedly in
retaliation for the inmate spitting on the officers the day before.
Full coverage on WTHR Channel 13
So this is somewhat unusual since it’s caught on videotape. It seems
like a few times a week our office receives calls from people that are
incarcerated, either in a prison or in a county jail alleging improper
behavior, beatings, denial of medical treatment from correctional officers.
Now I understand correctional officers have a tough job. It’s very
stressful, but at times they snap, and they do things they shouldn’t.
When that happens they need to be held accountable.
Hopefully in this situation they’ll be held accountable criminally,
and we see the county prosecutor is actually filing charges against those
officers who’ve now been fired. In addition to criminal penalties,
these officers also should be sued under Section 1983, because they certainly
violated the Constitutional rights. Thanks for tuning in.
This is Steve Wagner from Wagner Reese. If you have questions regarding
a potential
jail death case or any civil rights case in Indiana, call today for a free consultation.