On Friday, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction fired seven employees after officials said they used excessive and unjustified force against a Black male inmate who died in custody.
A notice of removal was sent to five correction officers, a supervisor, and a licensed nurse from the agency following an investigation into the incident that took place in February.
55-year-old Michael McDaniel was seen on footage collapsing on his own and being taken down to the floor by the guards at least 16 times before he passed, ABC News reported.
The footage of the incident, which took place at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, took place on Feb. 6 but wasn’t released until July.
“We’re responsible for what happened in that video,” director Annette Chambers-Smith told reporters in July. “There is no question about that.”
Heath Causey is one of the officers involved and is accused of performing a “take-down” of the victim. McDaniel was being escorted outside without shoes and a coat while wearing a ripped white t-shirt that caused “his body to veer off the walking path and land face-down in a snow cover area.”
Records also report that Lt. Bruce Brown “took no steps to stop” McDaniel from falling, and he failed to call for assistance to “safely transport” him to the medical facility after offices used excessive force against him.
Officials say that the encounter appears to happen as many as half a dozen times as other officers looked on. The agency also concluded that the 16 times the victim hit the floor, it could have been avoided, but it wasn’t due to the neglect of care by the staff.
When he finally arrived at the medical center, his medical exam took less than a minute, and the nurse who treated him did not do a standard exam or check his vital signs.
When he was taken from that facility, he collapsed outside for the last time. CPR was initiated, and an ambulance was called. He died shortly after.
Four hours after, Jamie Dukes, a licensed nurse, signed a medical document claiming that the victim refused care.
“However, Ms. Dukes was not in the room to actually hear Inmate McDaniel refuse treatment.” The agency says he never turned down treatment. Dukes was fired on Friday.
The Franklin County Coroner’s office concluded that McDaniel’s death was a homicide and ruled his cause of death as a “stress-induced sudden cardiac death.” His autopsy revealed injuries to his head, face, shoulders, wrists, hands, knees, feet, toes, and abdomen. He also suffered multiple rib fractures, and the coroner found evidence of heart disease.
Three other staff members involved previously resigned; some resigned before the investigation was even completed.
“This is not what we trained people to do,” Chambers-Smith said last month. “Not everyone is suited to correctional work and those who are not suited should be removed.”
A county prosecutor will decide if there are any criminal charges against the prison employees.
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