By Adam Ferrise
The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND — A Cuyahoga County Jail inmate who tested positive for the coronavirus spit on a corrections officer, officials said.
The corrections officer, who was not identified, was wearing full protective equipment, including an N95 mask, goggles, gown, gloves and shoe coverings, according to Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan.
Madigan said the officer was tested for coronavirus but Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association attorney Adam Chaloupka, who represents the jail officer’s union, said a doctor told the officer to quarantine until next week and then get tested.
Madigan said the sheriff is investigating the incident. Chaloupka said he would like to see criminal charges pursued against the inmate and noted that the officer is willing to press charges. The officer is on paid leave until his test result returns.
The incident happened about 9 a.m. Monday. Chaloupka said the inmate was being held in isolation for disciplinary reasons, but did not know why.
Officers took the inmate out of his cell to get medical treatment, Chaloupka said.
The inmate became agitated and officers strapped him into a restraint chair, Chaloupka said. Officers put a spit mask on the inmate, but he somehow chewed the mask to the point he could spit, Chaloupka said. He spat on the officer’s hair, according to Chaloupka.
Chaloupka said several criminal charges could apply to the case, including harassment with bodily fluids, or assault.
The jail leads the state in the number of coronavirus cases and inmates quarantined after being exposed to virus or suffering from coronavirus symptoms. Forty-four inmates on Tuesday had coronavirus, according to the most recent state numbers.
At least 20 other inmates recovered from the virus while in custody and three were released, according to statistics released by the county on Friday.
Eleven corrections officers tested positive for the virus, Chaloupka said.
The union on Thursday wrote a letter to Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and County Council President Dan Brady asking for the county to approve hazardous-duty pay for its officers. The letter said that because of the nature of the jail, officers cannot avoid being exposed to the virus.
Madigan said there were 994 inmates in the jail on Tuesday. Officials in March cleared more than 1,000 inmates accused of non-violent, low-level crimes out of the jail in preparation of creating space for inmates with coronavirus.
———
©2020 The Plain Dealer, Cleveland