Cook County Sheriff's correctional officer charged with beating handcuffed inmate
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Cook County Sheriff's correctional officer has been charged with beating a jail inmate who was handcuffed to a wall last fall.
Correctional officer Richard Smith, 44, was working in the Cook County Jail's residential treatment unit – which deals with medical and mental health issues – on Sept. 20, as an inmate was handcuffed to a wall by his left arm in one of the unit's dorms.
As Smith and another officer approached the inmate to talk to him, Smith started hitting the inmate in the head and body, according to Smith's arrest report. The beating was caught on video and showed that, as the other officer tried to gain control of the inmate's right arm, Smith kept beating the inmate, even after other back-up officers arrived.
Ultimately, Smith was escorted off the tier.
The sheriff's office said Smith struck the 24-year-old inmate more than 30 times, and was de-deputized after the incident, and removed from working with jail inmates while a criminal investigation was launched. He has been charged with aggravated battery and official misconduct, and turned himself in on Tuesday.
The sheriff's office now will seek to suspend him without pay, and will recommend the Sheriff's Merit Board fire him. He has been employed with the sheriff's office since 2010.
"Excessive or unlawful force is not tolerated," Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said in a statement. "We have instituted a nationally recognized system to help prevent such abuse and prosecute it when it happens. Those who engage in this abuse completely disregarded their training, and they disparage the hardworking men and women who keep the jail safe and secure."
Smith's bond was set at $50,000 during his first court appearance on Tuesday, and he was ordered not to have any contact with the victim or witnesses if he posts bail. He also must surrender his FOID card and any firearms.
