MONTGOMERY COUNTY — Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck has issued a statement after the 10 jail employees avoided charges in the in-custody death of Christian Black.
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Black died while in the custody of the Montgomery County Jail in March.
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His manner of death was ruled a homicide by the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office, which also determined that his cause of death was mechanical and positional asphyxia.
Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck issued the following statement Thursday afternoon:
“I have been asked to comment on the results of the Grand Jury findings regarding the death of Christian Black. I am satisfied that a thorough and impartial criminal investigation was completed by the Dayton Police Department and the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office and that the citizens of Montgomery County who are serving on the Grand Jury took their duty seriously. I respect the findings of the Grand Jury just as I would have if they had believed that charges were appropriate. Now that the criminal investigation has concluded, we can move on to the internal review phase.
Yesterday, I probationary released a corrections officer who held Mr. Black down in the emergency restraint chair. Although I believe that the officer had no intention of harming Mr. Black and that he was only trying to keep Mr. Black from causing injury to himself, the duration for which Mr. Black remained bent over was not consistent with the guidelines we follow to avoid positional asphyxia.
I also contacted the Buckeye State Sheriff’s Association (BSSA) and asked if another Sheriff’s Office would be willing to complete an investigation to see if any of our policies or procedures were violated and if there are any other steps that we should implement to reduce the likelihood of something like this happening again. The BSSA contacted Hamilton County Sheriff Charmain McGuffey, and she has assigned her Professional Standards Division to review the incident. At this time, three of the employees that were involved in the incident remain on paid administrative leave until Hamilton County has had a chance to begin their investigation. If Hamilton County’s investigation finds any policy violations, we will move forward with corrective action.
I’m proud to be the Montgomery County Sheriff even in challenging times and I remain committed to serving the citizens as transparently as possible.”
One of Black’s family attorneys, Robert Gresham, told News Center 7 that while this was not the outcome they wanted, they are not done fighting.
Englewood police arrested Black in March after he allegedly crashed a stolen car.
Police said Black then jumped a fence and tried to swim away from officers.
He was arrested and brought to the Montgomery County Jail.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said Black had repeated confrontations with corrections officers after being booked in jail.
They said he repeatedly banged his head against his cell door and again tried to fight staff, prompting them to tase and use pepper spray on him before putting him in a restraint chair.
Black lost consciousness and was rushed to the hospital. He died two days later, on March 26, according to a previous News Center 7 report.
“Christian’s death was not simply a mistake, but it was a homicide, and it was ruled by the coroner, and he deserves full accountability,” Gresham said.
Ten employees were placed on leave, but six of them have returned to work.
On Wednesday, Gresham and Black’s family found out about the Grand Jury’s decision.
He said the family felt some justice a few months ago when the county settled a $7 million lawsuit.
Now the family is suing Naphcare, which is the contractor that provides medical and dental health services to inmates at the county jail.
“The officers walked away from this, but Naphcare still has to answer for its role in Christian’s death. And while this decision appears to close one door, we’re going to pursue justice through another, and that door is not closed, and we’re going to walk through it,” Gresham said.
We will continue to follow this story.
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