By C1 Staff
NEWARK, NJ — Essex County corrections officer Carlton Clark took the witness stand today and defended himself against charges of aggravated assault and official misconduct following an altercation with a female inmate in August of 2011.
Clark said that he struck inamte Emirlene Phiemon after she threw the first punch, according to NJ.com. Clark then attempted to subdue her as other inmates closed in.
Clark could be sent to 20 years behind bars for with altercation with Phiemon, which sent her to the medical unit before she was returned to her cell.
“I told her to stop, just stop,” Clark told jurors in Superior Court. “When I look up I see 20 inmates right behind me and I can hear them yelling and saying all kinds of stuff.”
He then said he shooed two other officers away, indicating that their attention should be on the inmates while he tried to get handcuffs on Philemon as she lay on the ground in a doorway to the cell area. The testimony was criticism of corrections officers Yasmina Allen and Joseph Hernandez, who last week testified for the prosecution, claiming Clark repeatedly punched Philemon with a closed fist as she lay defenseless.
Both officers received immunity from criminal charges after admitting they lied on written reports of the incident by claiming Clark used only “minimal force,” to protect Clark.
Philemon was badly bruised from the beating and needed treatment for a fractured eye socket and a chipped tooth, according to her testimony. At the time, she was awaiting trial for an armed robbery charge but pleaded guilty in June 2012 to a lesser charge of receiving stolen property.
Surveillance video shown to the jurors last week showed Philemon falling to the ground as Clark repeatedly punches her in the face with a closed fist, according to NJ.com.
Clark said he was returning Philemon to her cell area on Aug. 26, 2011 when she used an obscenity to suggest he lock her in her cell. He then decided that Philemon needed to be removed from the cell area because she was causing a commotion. As he tried to move her out of the cell area, he felt her body tense up.
He said he managed to block the first of her punches, and claimed was trying to gain control to end the situation quickly. The whole incident lasted only a few seconds. Once he had her on the ground, Clark contends that he felt her foot in his groin as he tried to turn her on her stomach to place handcuffs on her wrists.
Hernandez testified last week that he body-slammed Clark after the officer refused to stop throwing punches.
“I’m telling him it’s over, let it go, leave her alone,” Hernandez testified.