Fayette County DA weighs charges against corrections officers after alleged jail beating
Two corrections officers have been fired, and a third has been suspended for 10 days after the alleged beating of an inmate left him with "severe" injuries, officials said.
But the investigation into the alleged beating is far from over. The discipline has been handed down, but no criminal charges have been filed.
Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele says his investigation remains active. Beyond what the officers did, there's the issue of how the jail protects the people in its custody.
But what happened inside the Fayette County Jail to cause those injuries to the inmate, Robert Stimmel, was not captured on camera.
Stimmel suffered a brain bleed and spent days in the hospital following an alleged beating in the intake area.
Losing a job and facing criminal charges are separate matters.
"An individual who is combative should have never been transported in that location, and if he wasn't combative being transported to that location, what happened should have never happened," said Fayette County District Attorney Mike Aubele. "The terminations and suspension were related to violations of policy."
There were no cameras in the intake area to record the encounter, leaving investigators without video from the place where Stimmel was injured.
But the lack of cameras also raises a lasting concern about oversight inside the jail.
Aubele says the jail is working to reduce the risk of a confrontation.
"Specifically to modify that area so we can have an inmate have cuffs removed without having to have hands on them, without having any situation where somebody could potentially take a swing or assault a guard."
The officers have answered to the prison board. Whether they'll have to answer in court is now up to Aubele.
"We've also been able to collect all of the medical records that we believe we need to make a decision, which we just received the final bit of information yesterday, so that's something we're considering as well," Aubele said.
A decision on whether the officers will be charged is expected on Monday.
