Judge bars release of video of inmate’s death
ENID — A judge Tuesday sealed from the public a surveillance video showing a jail inmate dying after being confined in a restraint chair for 54 hours.
The video of the inmate's last 19 hours in the chair was to have been the key evidence at the preliminary hearing for suspended Garfield County Sheriff Jerry Niles, 60, and three other defendants.
All four are charged with first-degree manslaughter in the 2016 death of Anthony Huff.
Associate District Judge Ryan Reddick decided Tuesday to just hear testimony about the video to save time. The judge said he will seal his copy of the video and told attorneys not to release their copies to the public.
Defense attorneys asked for the sealing, saying it was necessary to ensure a fair and impartial jury if the judge orders the cases to trial.
"Releasing the grotesque and prejudicial video to the public presents a likely and severe risk of being seen by most if not all of the jury pool prior to trial," defense attorney Stephen Jones argued.
The decision frustrated District Attorney Chris Boring, who had planned to show key moments from the video during the preliminary hearing. He estimated the presentation would take only a couple of hours.
He also had prepared extra copies of the video to be distributed to the media after it was shown in court. The Oklahoman had asked for a copy last month.
The DA argued the people of Garfield County need to know what happened in their detention center in 2016.
Huff, 58, of Enid, had been jailed on June 4, 2016, for public intoxication. He was restrained on June 6, 2016, and died two days later.
Charged with the sheriff are his daughter, Jennifer Niles, 35; John Robert Markus, 30; Shawn Caleb Galusha, 38. All three were officials at the jail at the time of the death.
They are accused of unlawfully causing the death by treating the inmate in a cruel and inhumane manner.
The first and only witness Tuesday, a special agent with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said Huff appeared lethargic most of the time on the video. Special Agent Charles Dancer said the inmate's treatment violated 17 requirements of the jail's restraint chair policy.
Defense attorneys are focusing on an autopsy finding that Huff died of natural causes. Specifically, Huff died from complications of his chronic alcoholism, the pathologist wrote.
The preliminary hearing resumes Wednesday. The judge in the case is from Beaver County and the district attorney is from Woodward County.