Criminal charges possible against jailers in two deaths
The latest inmate to die at the Oklahoma County jail suffered a severed spine, possibly from being subdued by a rookie detention officer, The Oklahoman has learned.
Mitchell Everett Willis, 54, of Oklahoma City, was found unresponsive in his cell at 5:50 p.m. Aug. 18, about seven hours after he was booked into the jail on public drunkenness, assault and battery, and other complaints.
He was pronounced dead in his cell by an EMSA emergency medical technician at 6:09 p.m. Aug. 18 after resuscitation efforts failed.
The detention officer was reassigned Aug. 29. Acting Sheriff P.D. Taylor told The Oklahoman the officer has been with the sheriff’s office 6 ½ months. Taylor did not release the officer’s name.
“Due to your involvement in an ongoing use-of-force investigation, you are being reassigned to a post that has no inmate contact whatsoever, effective immediately,” Taylor wrote the detention officer.
The officer admitted to putting a knee to the back of the inmate to subdue him, The Oklahoman has learned.
District Attorney David Prater said sheriff investigators on Thursday made him aware of the circumstances of Willis’ death.
“I am concerned about the information and am anxiously awaiting the results of the investigation to determine what my next steps will be,” the district attorney said Friday. “Criminal charges are possible.”
Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents have been looking into the death, along with the sheriff investigators.
“It’s a pending investigation,” the acting sheriff said. “We’re looking at everything, from it being from natural causes to force being used . ... It’s a serious incident, not a doubt. Every death is . ... We’re looking at every possibility that could have happened.”
An autopsy report has not been completed yet but may become available in October, a medical examiner’s office investigator said Friday.
Willis was jailed Aug. 16, after a confrontation with security officers at a bank. He was released the next day. He was jailed again Aug. 18, this time after a confrontation before dawn with police officers outside his home.
Police did use pepper spray, but no other force, during the Aug. 18 arrest, according to the reports. “He displayed no signs of life-threatening injuries while in our custody,” Master Sgt. Gary Knight said Friday.
The district attorney also said Friday criminal charges could be filed against a number of detention officers and possibly their supervisors over another inmate death.
‘No justification’
Prater said he met Thursday with the OSBI agents who investigated the death of Charlton Cash Chrisman, 40, of Yukon.
Chrisman died early April 19 after two altercations with detention officers inside the jail. During the first altercation, he was struck repeatedly by pepper balls, records show.
Chrisman had a history of drug use and mental health issues, records show. He had been jailed the day before after crashing his pickup into a hospital emergency room waiting area.
An autopsy determined the cause of death was “agitated delirium due to acute methamphetamine intoxication.” The autopsy also determined a contributing factor was “multiple” hits from pepper balls fired by detention officers.
Prater said he has viewed a jail video of the officers shooting the pepper balls at Chrisman in a jail corridor after another officer opened his cell door. He also has reviewed autopsy photos showing the pepper ball marks and other injuries.
“I anticipate that there will be criminal charges filed in this case,” Prater said. “I can see no justification for the actions the officers took.”
Prater said he has asked the OSBI and sheriff investigators to get him the training records of all the detention officers involved before he makes a final decision on who will be charged.
The acting sheriff reassigned officers to jobs having no inmate contact after Chrisman’s death, too. He also changed the training policy.
Taylor took over as acting sheriff in March when his longtime boss, John Whetsel, retired.
Voters will determine at a special election Tuesday if Taylor, a Republican, continues as sheriff. His opponents are a Democrat, Mike Hanson, an Oklahoma County sheriff’s deputy, and an independent, Ed Grimes, a Canadian County sheriff’s deputy.
A key issue throughout the campaign this year has been the jail, particularly because inmates keep dying. In 2017 so far, 10 inmates have died.