Photo courtesy of WBNS10 TV News/YouTube.
A nurse and five correctional officers were fired by the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction after the coroner determined that the cause of death of an inmate, Michael McDaniel, was homicide, according to ABC 6 News.
Guards reportedly beat McDaniel both inside and outside of his cell after entering without cause. Afterwards, several guards used excessive force while transporting McDaniel, 55, to the medical center, which was caught on video.
Most of the beating happened out of the camera’s view. However, the guards can be seen either letting McDaniel collapse or causing him to fall at least 16 times while being transported in the snow barefoot to the prison medical center. He died on Feb. 6 of blunt-force trauma and stress-induced sudden cardiac death as a result of his injuries.
One officer, Heath Causey, was escorting McDaniel barefoot in the snow and knocked him down, where he fell face down into the snow. A nurse at the medical center failed to take vitals on McDaniel and spent less than a minute examining him. Guards then attempted to take McDaniel back to his cell when he collapsed again. Finally, an ambulance was called, and paramedics attempted CPR, but it was too late. McDaniel was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The Franklin County Coroner’s office ruled Mc Daniel’s death a homicide and noted blunt-force trauma to his face and head. He also had injuries to his abdomen, shoulders, wrists, knees, feet, hands and toes. McDaniel also had several rib fractures. Three guards had already resigned.
A supervisor was also terminated for their role in McDaniel’s death. A lieutenant was terminated for failing to stop his guards and for failing to get McDaniel medical assistance. The nurse is accused of forging paperwork after the homicide at the Pickaway County correctional facility in Columbus, Ohio. Two guards were found to have improperly accessed McDaniel’s cell and serve as the catalyst for the events which followed.
Nurse Jamie Dukes signed off on a medical form which said that McDaniel refused treatment, despite the fact that she was not in the room to know whether or not it was true.
The nurse and all guards were found guilty of either lying, interfering or failing to cooperate during the homicide investigation.
The facility’s director, Annette Chambers-Smith, admitted that they were responsible for McDaniel’s death.
“We’re responsible for what happened in that video. There is no question about that,” she said.
The county prosecutor will now decide whether to charge ex-prison employees with criminal charges.