Drake Bentley
Two former correctional officers at Milwaukee County Jail face felony charges for abusing restrained inmates by repeatedly striking them, deploying pepper spray, and in one case pulling an inmate's dreadlocks, according to prosecutors.
Rafael Gomez III, 30, and Marques T. Reeder, 25, were charged Thursday by the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. Both men are no longer employed by the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.
Gomez, who was the supervisor on duty at the time of the incidents, was charged with abuse of a resident of a penal facility and two counts of misconduct in public office. Reeder received two counts of abuse of an inmate and two counts of misconduct in public office.
According to prosecutors, on Sept. 24, the two guards abused a restrained inmate, only identified by the initials SEH, who recently stripped down naked and threatened assault of the guards while in the unit that houses inmates on suicide watch. The officers would then make false and contradictory statements about the incident, prosecutors said.
Most of the events were captured on surveillance and bodycam video, authorities said.
Inmate repeatedly pepper sprayed, struck, complaint says
According to the complaint:
As Gomez and Reeder arrived for their 6 a.m. shift, SEH was already attached to a restraint bench in the hallway and was also wearing a belt that restricts movement of his hands, which are cuffed in front of him.
SEH was yelling threats and obscenities at the officers, which included Reeder. After being served a breakfast tray, SEH said he was having chest pains because he swallowed a piece of metal. Officers had Gomez and medical staff respond to the unit. The medical staff checked SEH's vitals and determined he should be escorted to the clinic.
Officers assisted SEH with getting dressed but SEH insisted that Reeder not touch him. SEH accused Reeder of threatening him the day before. Another officer told investigators that Reeder had threatened to "hurt" SEH.
Gomez did not attempt to replace Reeder as SEH grew increasingly unruly by threatening and spitting. Gomez and Reeder then unlocked SEH from the bench before attempting to stand him up and "stabilize" him so they could take the inmate to the clinic.
But soon, SEH was ordered to "get down" while Gomez and Reeder directed him to the ground onto his back and right side as SEH was "actively resisting," the complaint says.
Gomez then delivered two hand strikes to SEH's chest, according to prosecutors, before deploying two bursts of pepper spray. After the second burst, Gomez raised the spray canister and struck SEH's face twice, prosecutors said. Reeder then struck SEH twice, the complaint says.
Two other officers in the unit responded to help before Gomez deployed a third burst of pepper spray to SEH's face, according to the complaint. Reeder then grabbed SEH's dreadlocks, the complaint says.
SEH's level of resistance "lowered" when prosecutors said Reeder began rubbing his hands in SEH's face in an attempt to worsen the effects of the pepper spray. SEH began apologizing, saying, "I'm sorry, bro," as Reeder continued to rub his hands in SEH's face while Gomez held SEH's hands away from his face, the complaint says.
The officers moved SEH back to the restraint bench and they continued to strike him and pull his hair despite him not being resistive at this point, prosecutors said.
Gomez and Reeder would go on to give false statements about the events to investigators both in reports and during interviews, the complaint says.
Second inmate says he was abused
Reeder is also accused of abusing a second inmate, identified as TTS or Sullivan, in the complaint.
According to the complaint:
The inmate, TTS, was threatening to harm himself after witnessing the excessive use of the force by officers on SEH. Officers removed TTS from his cell and then moved him to a restraint bench before he attempted to spit on officers and tamper with the handcuffs.
About 40 minutes after officers removed TTS from his cell, Reeder approached TTS and began taunting him saying "spit" multiple times while holding pepper spray. TTS taunted back saying "spray me." After grabbing the inmate's neck, Reeder deployed pepper spray directly into TTS's face.
Officers scuffled with TTS, striking him as he resisted. TTS received a bloody nose during the incident but prosecutors said the clinic said he did not have any broken bones or fractures as a result of this incident.
Eventually, the officers decided that Reeder needed to be removed from the situation and initiated an "officer override," the complaint says. Similar to the first incident, Gomez and Reeder provided false statements in reports and during interviews, prosecutors said.
Both officers are no longer with MCSO
The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office released a statement on Thursday announcing that both Gomez and Reeder are no longer employed by MCSO.
"MCSO holds its members to high standards, given the weight of our responsibility to protect and serve the public," the statement says. "Our commitment to those standards is evidenced by the fact that upon learning of these now-former officers’ alleged actions, MCSO detectives initiated and led a thorough investigation that provided the evidence needed for the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office to file criminal charges. Subsequently, these officers, who were still in their probationary employment phase, were separated from their employment with MCSO. MCSO will continue to cooperate with the District Attorney’s Office as these cases make their way through the criminal justice system."
Gomez and Reeder do not have permanent attorneys listed yet in court records.
Both inmates received pepper spray aftercare from medical personnel, prosecutors said. Authorities began investigating the incidents after the inmates made verbal complaints regarding excessive force being used, the complaint says.
More:Milwaukee County Jail audit finds suicidal inmates handcuffed for hours, lack of training
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