Newly Released Videos Show Inmate Attacks on Cook County Jail Deputies: Sheriff

Chicago, IL, June 24, 2016 -- Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has released videos documenting jail detainees’ batteries against correctional officers at Cook County Jail.

Dart released four videos of incidents that all took place since May of detainees allegedly attacking deputies. The alleged attacks all took place in the jail’s maximum security divisions that house the most violent and disruptive inmates in Cook County Jail’s custody, a sheriff’s news release said.

The release comes on the heels of Dart’s decision in April to proactively release videos documenting incidents of excessive force by the jail’s correctional deputies after the cases are resolved by the Independent Merit Board.

Dart said he would continue to release videos documenting inmate as well as deputy battery videos as soon as investigations are completed.

According to Dart, several of the inmate attacks resulted in deputies’ hospitalizations. The detainees were charged with aggravated battery against a peace officer.

Deputies faces are blurred in the videos to protect their privacy. Dart said that jail deputies are continually subjected to violent assaults, verbal threats, indecent exposure, spit and and even urine and feces from detainees, particularly in the jail’s maximum security divisions.

“There simply is no more difficult job than that of a correctional deputy, and I have extraordinary admiration for my staff who put their necks on the line every day in order to maintain the safety of everyone in the jail,” Dart said in a news release. ”I will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect our staff by holding these detainees accountable for the criminal acts they commit in the jail.”
The Cook County Sheriff Office’s Correctional Informational and Investigations Division investigates crimes committed with the jail including batteries against officers.

Since January 2015, investigations have resulted in charges against 163 detainees for aggravated battery on a peace officer. Deputies attacked by detainees have the option of pursuing criminal charges.

Videos and summaries of each case can be found on the Cook County Sheriff's website.