Former Iowa correctional officer found guilty of assaulting jail inmate

A judge ruled Austin Svendsen’s use of force was not justified after he took the inmate to the ground and struck him five times during a 2025 cell transfer

September 15, 2026 04:49 PM

By Nick Hytrek
Sioux City Journal, Iowa

SIOUX CITY, Iowa — A former Woodbury County correctional officer was found guilty Monday of assaulting a jail inmate.

District Associate Judge Mark Cord announced his verdict, finding Austin Svendsen, 31, guilty of assault causing bodily injury or mental illness, a serious misdemeanor.

“The record clearly shows the defendant’s actions were not justified,” Cord said while announcing his verdict in the courtroom. Cord presided over Svendsen’s June 1 trial.

Sentencing was scheduled for Oct. 13 in Woodbury County District Court.

Svendsen punched the inmate in the head five times during a Feb. 14, 2025, altercation while the inmate was being moved to another cell. The inmate began arguing with jailers and called Svendsen a profane name.

Svendsen then struck the inmate in the abdomen with his knee and took him to the ground while the inmate’s hands were full with his mattress and other belongings, then punched him with his fist in the face four times while the inmate was lying face down on the floor as five other corrections officers gained control of him. Ten seconds later, Svendsen punched the inmate in the head a fifth time, resulting in a cut to the inmate’s cheek.

“The final fist to the face serves as an exclamation point,” Cord said.

A doctor later diagnosed the inmate with a concussion in addition to head trauma that included a bruised right ear and a knot on the back of his head.

The defense had argued Svendsen’s use of force was justified as officers were gaining control of an inmate who was argumentative, noncompliant and was resisting efforts to restrain him.

Cord said the inmate posed no physical threat to Svendsen or the other officers, and Svendsen unjustifiably escalated the situation when he took the inmate to the ground.

"(The inmate’s) hands were full at the time of the takedown and had no reasonable ability to act out in any way that would justify ‘hands on’ and a takedown,” Cord said in his ruling.

A first trial in the case ended in February with a mistrial.

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