Adam Ferrise
Advance Ohio Media, Cleveland
CLEVELAND, Ohio — An inmate attacked two Cuyahoga County Jail officers after he complained of being on forced lockdowns, a practice known as red-zoning that has been a persistent issue at the troubled jail, records show.
The March 24 fight occurred one day after another inmate complaining of being on forced lockdown tried to commit suicide by jumping off a balcony in the same block of cells.
Red-zoning has been a persistent issue at the jail, where eight inmates died in 2018. At least two of those eight inmates were on forced lockdowns at the times of their deaths.
Jeremy Presley, the inmate accused of attacking the officers during the March 24 incident, previously told jail staff he was sick of being on lockdown, according to a letter Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association Union Director Frank Hocker sent to county officials. The OPBA is the union that represents jail officers.
Presley about 10:30 a.m. asked to talk to a jail supervisor. He tried to shove the supervisor out of his cell, the supervisor said later in a written statement.
Presley punched the supervisor in the face, then hit him several more times as the supervisor tried to regain his balance, records say.
The supervisor used pepper spray on Presley, who continued attacking him. The supervisor tried to grab Presley and pepper-spray him again when an officer with the jail’s Special Response Team arrived, records say.
Presley then attacked the SRT officer, who also tried to pepper-spray Presley. Presley and the officer fell to the ground as they wrestled, and Presley got on top of the officer and choked him, records say.
The supervisor, barely able to see from the pepper spray in the air, kicked Presley off the officer, punched him twice in the side and pinned him to the ground until he could be put in a restraint chair, records say.
The records do not detail the supervisor’s and SRT officer’s injuries. Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said she was not able to comment on their injuries.
OPBA president Tom Austin did not return messages seeking comment.
The attack came approximately 16 hours after another inmate told corrections officers he was sick of being of forced lockdowns, and that he needed anti-anxiety medication, according to county records.
The inmate later jumped off a 15-foot balcony in the jail and landed on a metal table. He survived, but jail officials placed him in a different cell upon his return to the jail.
Corrections officers have long complained that the regular lockdowns are dangerous for both inmates and officers. They blame the lockdowns on an overall staff shortage caused by the county failing to hire enough officers.
The issue was one of many issues highlighted in a November U.S. Marshals Service report that detailed “inhumane” conditions at the jail.
The report said some inmates were locked down for 27 hours at a time, and other housing areas were under lockdown during parts of 12 consecutive days.
The county hired 28 new corrections officers since March 18 in an attempt to shore up the staffing shortage. The county plans to eventually staff the jail with 675 officers, which would end red-zoning.
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