Jail officer beats inmate to death.

[TMW]

Raleigh, N.C. — A Wake County detention officer charged with causing an inmate’s death said in court Wednesday he felt the prisoner was a threat and needed to be subdued.

Shon Demetrius McClain, 40, died from blunt force trauma to the head and neck 13 days after prosecutors say he got into a fight with Officer Markeith Council.

Council, a detention officer at the jail since 2009, is charged with voluntary manslaughter in the case. The defense rested Wednesday, and the jury began deliberation shortly before 4 p.m.

Testifying on his own behalf, Council recalled the night he got into an altercation with McClain. Council said he was the only officer in the cell block with 55 inmates when McClain started arguing with him.

Council had been passing out sheets to the inmates when McClain accused him of nearly slamming his hand in the cell door.

“He talked about how we had too much power,” Council said. “Other inmates were egging him on. I told him not to listen.”

About 15 or 20 minutes later, Council said, inmates were out of their cells when a combative McClain approached him again.

“I’m telling him that he needs to back up,” Council testified. “Again, I’m telling him don’t let his friends get him in trouble. You could hear these guys saying something to him.”

Council said within moments McClain struck him in the jaw, and they began to tussle. The officer tried to handcuff him while keeping an eye on the crowd.

“I’ve got to get him off of me and get him secured,” Council said. “I’m worried about what is going on around me. Your mind shuts down and you go to what you know, which is your training.”

Council said he didn’t have time to use pepper spray. He called on all available officers and a nurse, and put the block on lockdown.

McClain – who had been in custody since May 28 on misdemeanor charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and consuming malt beverage on public property – was taken to WakeMed, where he remained on life support until his death on June 17.

Council, who has three children and a baby on the way, said his career goal is to become a prison warden. His wife is a Raleigh police officer.

He said he didn’t know McClain prior to that night and “didn’t have a problem” with him.

During testimony Tuesday, other inmates said that McClain – who was 5 feet 7 inches tall and 119 pounds – was helpless once he was pinned by the bigger officer. Jurors were shown security video that showed Council slamming McClain to the ground twice.

During his cross-examination Wednesday, Wake County District Attorney Colon Willoughby focused on the physical differences between the men. Council weighs 290 pounds and played football in college.

Willoughby asked Council whether he considered subduing McClain by sitting on him, rather than slamming him to the ground.

"Why did you throw him down the second time?" the prosecutor asked. "You know that at that point, throwing him down was going to hurt him."

Council replied: "I didn't think to hurt him. I was thinking about getting him off of me."

Video is here

[simmode1]

This is a tough one. Correctional officer started the physical altercation with the push. But its understandable when you're in the midst of, what..? 30 inmates? If he didn't end that situation quickly, he could easily be the dead one. You might say the second slam was overkill, but the whole fight was like 5 seconds long... Restraint can be difficult when you perceive your life is in danger.

Hell, after reading the article, I'm surprised 2 slams is all he did. I thought it was gonna be way worse. But this is what can happen in the real world when you rumble with someone 2.5 times your size and probably all muscle.

[fliprayzin240sx]

What the fuck is this guy doing in jail for a misdemeanor drug paraphernalia possession and alcohol possession?!?! Just that alone is fucking overkill...

[No 240.. No id]

Thank god this wasn't a back-white case.... Otherwise it will be all over the internet like zimmerman.

[FaLKoN240]

He been watching too much Worldstar.

[acslater9]

If you watch the video all it took was one slam and you can tell he was gone. Its crazy watching the video but shit happens.

[TMW]

The correctional officer got sentenced to 90 days in the county jail followed by 3 years probation. For killing a guy...

[reallygood101]

sounds like he got it down to an assault charge wit the time and probation hes serving, i wonder if he got charged b4 the guy died if that were the case then he got off lucky

[TMW]

No, he was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. 90 days...

[theronin]

A bunch of civilians who've never been in that kind of situation judging a split second decision made by a corrections officer. If that officer goes down, he is dead, period.

I have personal friends in corrections, you do not talk back to them, you do not step up to them. I'd love to have some audio with this. Maybe one day...

[TMW]

Originally Posted by theronin

If that officer goes down, he is dead, period.

In the video you can see that no other inmates are making any move towards the officer. I don't think any of the other inmates are going to make an attempt at the officer's life. It's the county jail not a maximum security prison. Most of the people there are for minor crimes, like the inmate who was killed.

I can understand that the officer might have felt that he was in danger, but he took it entirely too far. He outweighed the inmate by over 150 pounds and after the first time he threw him to the floor he was unconscious. I think its clear that at that point the inmate was of no threat to him and he didn't have to slam him to the floor again.

[theronin]

Originally Posted by TMW

In the video you can see that no other inmates are making any move towards the officer. I don't think any of the other inmates are going to make an attempt at the officer's life. It's the county jail not a maximum security prison. Most of the people there are for minor crimes, like the inmate who was killed.

I can understand that the officer might have felt that he was in danger, but he took it entirely too far. He outweighed the inmate by over 150 pounds and after the first time he threw him to the floor he was unconscious. I think its clear that at that point the inmate was of no threat to him and he didn't have to slam him to the floor again.

I stand by what I said. Talk all you want.

[FaLKoN240]

They're trained to know better than to try to play friendly. It looks like he told that guy to back off and the fucker took a swing at him. At that point it's self defense. And until he's down and you have the situation under control you don't lower your defenses for any reason. That could've cost him his life.

[feito]

ahhhh, ugly things happen in jails/prisons, that's why one's supposed to be afraid of it and try to avoid it by being a good person, right? Besides, that's a number of meals we aint paying for anymore...

[theronin]

Originally Posted by FaLKoN240

They're trained to know better than to try to play friendly. It looks like he told that guy to back off and the fucker took a swing at him. At that point it's self defense. And until he's down and you have the situation under control you don't lower your defenses for any reason. That could've cost him his life.

Thank you for seeing reason.

[coreyh]

if I was an officer in a jail with that many inmates around me I would've reacted the same. regardless of "minor offense" these guys are there for a reason. you let your guard down you're as good as dead.

[Matej]

Half of those inmates deserve to be beaten to death.
Only in America does the public sympathize with a violent criminal. The US should do a prisoner exchange program with Russia to show those individuals what a real prison is, instead of this ridiculous free dormitory system. There are girl scout camps with tougher conditions than the average US prison.

[aymaeid]

Originally Posted by Matej

Half of those inmates deserve to be beaten to death.
Only in America does the public sympathize with a violent criminal. The US should do a prisoner exchange program with Russia to show those individuals what a real prison is, instead of this ridiculous free dormitory system. There are girl scout camps with tougher conditions than the average US prison.

Tell me more about your life behind bars.

[GluedMyNuts]

I think this goes both ways. While it's wise not to confront or talk back to the CO, you never know if the CO has been abusing the inmates and the inmate couldn't take it anymore. LA County is currently being investigated for abusive charges against the inmates. This is the exact reason we need a better monitoring system with perhaps chest mounter GoPros to avoid any misconducts from both inmates and CO. It's very easy for humans to exploit power as seen from the Stanford Prison Experiment.

[S14DB]

Originally Posted by theronin

A bunch of civilians who've never been in that kind of situation judging a split second decision made by a corrections officer. If that officer goes down, he is dead, period.

I have personal friends in corrections, you do not talk back to them, you do not step up to them. I'd love to have some audio with this. Maybe one day...

There is a vast difference between not letting them treat you like a punk and body slamming a rag doll till you break his neck.

He had control of him before he started slamming him. You know he went to far when the other inmates start stepping forward.

I have a high regard for public safety officials. I respect them but also hold them to a higher standard.

He's a criminal not a officer.

[GluedMyNuts]

Originally Posted by S14DB

There is a vast difference between not letting them treat you like a punk and body slamming a rag doll till you break his neck.

He had control of him before he started slamming him. You know he went to far when the other inmates start stepping forward.

I have a high regard for public safety officials. I respect them but also hold them to a higher standard.

He's a criminal not a officer.

What you said is true but I'm pretty confident it was never his intention to snap the inmate's neck. We do not know the exact protocol to this type of situation and also dealing with criminals require a fast reaction to disarm the tension. I feel sorry for the inmate because I do agree that the second toss was a bit unnecessary but at the same time I do not think I will hold the CO 100% accountable for manslaughter. I do not know about COs but LEOs are trained to shoot to eliminate threats and not shoot to disarm (which is kinda dumb IMO).

[theronin]

Originally Posted by S14DB

There is a vast difference between not letting them treat you like a punk and body slamming a rag doll till you break his neck.

He had control of him before he started slamming him. You know he went to far when the other inmates start stepping forward.

I have a high regard for public safety officials. I respect them but also hold them to a higher standard.

He's a criminal not a officer.

Once again I'd love to hear some audio.

I stand by my initial statement, until you have EVER been in a situation like that, you have really no room to judge. All this guy knows is he's outnumbered 30+ to 1.

[southjrz240]

well well welll.... here we go... myself being in state and county corrections i'm telling you that inmate deserved everything coming to him. For all you know those 30+ inmates in the background were suppose to jump the officer as well and it didn't happen. if an inmate poses any threat just like being in the face of that officer you immediately go one step higher and unfortunately that inmate was a whooping 120lbs.... Although it doesn't matter what size an inmate is because they are capable of everything and anything (shanking, splashing with hot water, throwing piss and shit, bleach ect). When watching this video i feel the second blow wasn't necessary but who knows if the injury accured during the first blow?? in my opinion this was a freak accident that unfortunately got this officer 90 days and obviously lost his job... I have been assaulted, spit on and seriously injured due to inmates like these and because of that it is almost impossible to not flip out and want to do serious bodily harm, but you always need to keep in mind the eye in the sky, the camera... it's either going to help you or hurt you. unfortunately in this situation it hurt him. it sucks, but we live in a terrible country. it's only getting worse. i ask myself everyday why i even signed up for the job. Hell, i almost had same this exact situation this morning at work, but the inmate backed down. I'm rambling at this point, but hopefully this brought some prospective to the situation...

[TMW]

In this particular jail, what you're talking about (shanking, throwing bleach, etc.) really doesn't happen. Hopefully that gives you some perspective to this situation. I've already given my take on what happened though so I'm not going to continue to argue.

[theronin]

Originally Posted by TMW

In this particular jail, what you're talking about (shanking, throwing bleach, etc.) really doesn't happen. Hopefully that gives you some perspective to this situation. I've already given my take on what happened though so I'm not going to continue to argue.

....edited for me being a douche.

Sorry

[TMW]

I've been to this particular jail plenty of times. Not as an inmate, but I do know quite a few people who have been there as an inmate.

[southjrz240]

Originally Posted by TMW

In this particular jail, what you're talking about (shanking, throwing bleach, etc.) really doesn't happen. Hopefully that gives you some perspective to this situation. I've already given my take on what happened though so I'm not going to continue to argue.

Are you kidding me? Anything can happen at any time. For example. THIS VIDEO

[sleepyS14se]

officer made the right decision.. i approve 110%

[fyneyoungstunna]

for the ones of you who said he deserved this because the officer didn't know what would happen. I hope you all die in a fucking home invasion.

At no point was there ever a threat to the officer....
At no point was there a blow delivered first by the inmate.
At one point it was obvious the inmate was going to step in...To keep the officer from doing more harm.
Fuck YOU ALL.

As someone said " its not max security"
officer could have easily took ONE step back, grabbed for tazer or pepper spray and kept the situation from escalating any more.
Also the response time from other officers is sketch as hell.

90 days for manslaughter......what a fucking joke. Corruption at its best.
Jesus and 2-pac are coming back soon in a black caddy (LOL)

[FaLKoN240]

Originally Posted by fyneyoungstunna

for the ones of you who said he deserved this because the officer didn't know what would happen. I hope you all die in a fucking home invasion.

At no point was there ever a threat to the officer....
At no point was there a blow delivered first by the inmate.
At one point it was obvious the inmate was going to step in...To keep the officer from doing more harm.
Fuck YOU ALL.

As someone said " its not max security"
officer could have easily took ONE step back, grabbed for tazer or pepper spray and kept the situation from escalating any more.
Also the response time from other officers is sketch as hell.

90 days for manslaughter......what a fucking joke. Corruption at its best.
Jesus and 2-pac are coming back soon in a black caddy (LOL)

I can see from both perspectives here, but officers (prison, peace what have you) are trained to see the situation for what it is, and cover THEIR ass.

The inmate got in the officer's face FIRST. As a means of asserting himself to disrespect the officer (figure of authority) At that point, what should the officer do? He maintained the dominant role he pushed the inmate away. At that point the intention of that inmate was to HIT the officer. He swung, missed, and the officer defended himself. The point where the officer was wrong was doing the SECOND slam. I'm sure that was a panic reaction.