CLEVELAND — Five correction officers from the Cuyahoga County Jail have found themselves on the other side of the law, facing charges in three separate incidents between July 2018 and March 2019.
Our cameras were there Wednesday as four of them were arraigned in Cleveland Municipal Court. During their brief court appearance, bond was set at $5,000 for each of them.
FIRST INCIDENT | July 16, 2018: Idris-Farid Clark is accused of spraying an inmate who was placed in a restraint chair, with pepper foam. Robert P. Marsh is accused of also assaulting the inmate.
- Clark is charged with Felonious Assault (F2), Assault (M1), Interfering with Civil Rights (M1) and Unlawful Restraint (M3).
- Marsh is charged with Assault (M1), Interfering with Civil Rights (M1) and Unlawful Restraint (M3). He was arraigned Wednesday with a pretrial hearing on April 16 at 9 a.m.
SECOND INCIDENT | Aug. 28, 2018: Martin Devring was the corrections officer on duty when prosecutors say he failed to secure a portion of the facility and falsified record logs by stating area was under control. It turns out that inmate Joseph Arquillo was in medical distress. Hours later, Arquillo was pronounced dead at MetroHealth medical center of a drug overdose.
- Devring is charged with Tampering with Records (F3), Dereliction of Duty (M2) and Interfering with Civil Rights (M1). He was arraigned Wednesday with a pretrial hearing on April 15 at 9 a.m.
THIRD INCIDENT | March 22, 2019: Nicholas D. Evans and Timothy M. Dugan were indicted for using excessive and unreasonable force against an inmate in a restraint chair. The inmate was later diagnosed with a concussion.
- Evans is charged with Felonious Assault (F2), Unlawful Restraint (M3), Tampering with Evidence (F3) and Interfering with Civil Rights (M1, 2 counts). He was arraigned Wednesday with a pretrial hearing on April 17 at 9 a.m.
- Dugan is charged with Felonious Assault (F2), Unlawful Restraint (M1) and Interfering with Civil Rights (M1, 2 counts). He was arraigned Wednesday with a pretrial hearing on April 17 at 9 a.m.
The jail in downtown Cleveland has been under scrutiny since the deaths of eight prisoners last year.
A report by the U.S. Marshals Service called conditions at the jail "inhumane" and unsafe.
Cuyahoga County Director of Communications Mary Louise Madigan tells WKYC that the county "has been cooperating and will continue to cooperate" with the investigation.