Three corrections officers at the Clark County Jail are facing criminal charges after an inmate says she called for help minutes before being assaulted inside her pod, then wasn't pulled from that same pod or given prompt medical attention afterward. The case centers on a chain of events that unfolded over roughly 45 minutes on the morning of Sept. 19, ending with the inmate being released from custody still carrying a visible injury to her eye.
A Call for Help, Then an Alleged Assault
According to a probable cause affidavit described by the Springfield News-Sun, the inmate called corrections officers at 8:19 a.m. that day, saying she was having an issue in the pod and needed out. Two minutes later, at 8:21 a.m., she was allegedly assaulted by Madison Boone, who now faces charges related to the alleged assault. Garrett Miller and another corrections officer had told the inmate she would be released in 30 minutes and should sit down and shut up, the affidavit states.
A corrections officer in training began pod checks at 8:25 a.m., and officer Mi’ell Savery responded to screaming and an assault taking place in the pod, the report notes. Savery reportedly asked why the inmate had gone into someone else's cell and told the trainee not to interact with her and to let her stand there. The affidavit states that Savery, Frank Jenks and Miller did not remove the inmate from the pod where she had just been assaulted.
Delayed Medical Check, Then Back to the Same Pod
The inmate wasn't brought out and seen by a nurse until 8:42 a.m., when corrections officers and the nurse checked her and the nurse observed a spot on her eye. She was given Tylenol and advised to go to the emergency room after her release if she thought her nose was broken, according to the affidavit's account. She had been scheduled for release at 9 a.m.
Rather than being held somewhere safe afterward, the inmate was returned to the same pod where the assault occurred and remained there for another 11 minutes before finally being taken to booking for release, the affidavit states. Clark County Assistant Prosecutor Brian Melchi wrote that the central issue was how the incident was handled by corrections officers on duty that morning, attributing the charges to staff not removing the inmate after she reported an issue and not promptly obtaining a medical evaluation after the assault.
Charges Filed, Officers Placed on Leave
The Clark County prosecutor's office reviewed the case, and that review led to dereliction-of-duty charges against the three officers, per the affidavit's account relayed by the paper. Miller and Jenks each face two counts of dereliction of duty, as does Savery, according to the newspaper's reporting. The charges are for dereliction of duty.
The three officers face charges in connection with the alleged incident. The probable cause affidavit was filed in Clark County Municipal Court, and the alleged incident occurred on Sept. 19.
What Ohio Jail Standards Require
Ohio's administrative code lays out baseline expectations for how county jails are supposed to operate, requiring full-service facilities to follow standards for inmate reception and release, implement written policies and procedures, and document compliance, according to the Ohio Administrative Code. The code also sets out standards for county jail operations.
The Clark County case isn't the only recent instance of an Ohio corrections officer facing allegations tied to an inmate incident. Earlier in September, a report from cleveland.com described corrections officer Matthew Mullenix, 35, being booked into the Clermont County Jail — the same facility where he worked — on allegations of assaulting an inmate.
No responses from Savery, Jenks, Miller or jail officials were available in the reporting reviewed for this story, and it remains unclear whether the officers have entered pleas or whether court dates have been scheduled.
