By C1 Staff
SPRINGFIELD, Ore. — A Springfield Jail corrections officer was choked by an inmate in a surprise attack, police said.
The officer was doing nighttime checks Monday when he noticed inmate Jason Gamble had blocked himself from view by tucking a sheet into the edge of the empty bunk above him, KVAL reported.
The officer asked Gamble, 30, to remove it, but the inmate did not respond. When the officer repeated the command, Gamble became defiant. The CO approached the bunk and Gamble lept “out from behind the sheet in a surprise attack on the officer.”
“Gamble grabbed the officer around the throat with a two-handed frontal choke hold, forcing him backward and eventually onto the ground,” a report said.
Backup arrived and attempted to pull Gamble off the CO, but the inmate wouldn’t remove his hands from the officer’s throat.
“Officers could not gain compliance from Gamble, who later told officers he had wanted to kill the officer,” the report. “The officers had to strike the man repeatedly about the head and upper torso while pulling at his hands to finally remove his hands from the officer’s throat.”
The officers and Gamble suffered scrapes and contusions in the incident. The officer was back at work Tuesday night. Gamble has been charged with assaulting a public safety officer and strangulation.