An officer with the Broome County Correctional Facility is charged with official misconduct and harassment in the second degree, after hitting an inmate who was handcuffed at the time of the incident.
Officer James Woodard and another, unnamed officer are both suspended without pay.
Broome County Sheriff Fred Akshar said that on July 23, correctional officers responded to an inmate at the county jail who threatened suicide and refused to enter his cell.
Body camera and security footage of the incident, released by the sheriff’s office, showed several officers yelling at the inmate and dragging him in handcuffs to a chair in the lobby of the jail medical unit.
Woodard can be seen in the footage striking the seated, still-cuffed inmate in the face and telling him to “shut up.” He also used what the sheriff’s office called a “gooseneck restraint,” which forced the man’s wrist and fingers back at a 45-degree angle.
During a press conference on Wednesday, Akshar said the use of force was unnecessary and violated New York State Law.
“There is nothing that could ever happen in which striking a restrained person who is sitting in a chair, there is no excuse that anyone could bring to my desk that would make what we saw allowable,” Akshar said.
Akshar said that after a preliminary investigation, Woodard and the other unnamed officer were suspended without pay.
“I'm not going to speak specifically about internal disciplinary processes, but I will say that I feel very strongly about the officer who struck the incarcerated individual never returning to this facility,” Akshar said. “Let me be very clear about that. I will fight to the very end to ensure that that never happens.”
The disciplinary process is ongoing. Woodard is charged with official misconduct, which is a class A misdemeanor, and harassment in the 2nd degree, a violation which is a non-criminal offense but will be considered in the overall sentence if he is convicted. It is not clear whether the other officer will face disciplinary action.
Akshar said prosecution of Woodard is now up to the Broome county district attorney’s office.
In a statement, Broome County District Attorney, Paul Battisti said: “Our office will handle this case like we do all criminal prosecutions within our County, always ensuring all interested parties are provided justice.”
Penny Stringfield, chairperson of the Broome County Jail Task Force Transition Team, said she appreciated that the sheriff’s office addressed the incident in a transparent way.
“I had a number of family members ask me during [Akshar’s campaign], ‘can you tell me now that my child, my husband, my brother, whomever who is incarcerated, will no longer be under threat of being physically harmed?’” Stringfield said. “That was a deep concern, and the answer was always yes. This would not be part of this administration.”
Akshar said all correctional officers will be retrained on the jail’s policies on use of force. He said his office reported the incident to the state and spoke with the correctional officer’s union.
“Some may suggest that it would have been more politically advantageous for me to try and hide this or to cover it up or not let this incident see the light of day,” Akshar said. “That's something that may have happened in the past, but that is not something that is happening today. It's not happening here. It's not happening on my watch.”
It is unclear if the inmate will seek legal action, however, in the video he can be heard threatening to sue the jail.