The family of an Ohio man who died two days after deputies restrained him in jail is calling for murder charges to be filed against the jail employees involved in the incident.
Christian Black was arrested and taken to the Montgomery County Jail on March 24 for an alleged incident involving a carjacking. Hours later, footage from inside the jail, obtained by the family attorney, shows the 25-year-old appearing to experience a crisis inside his cell.
In the video, at least 10 jail employees are seen preparing outside the cell before entering and attempting to restrain him.
The video shows Black agitated, running and slamming his body into officers as they enter the cell. In a matter of seconds, officers deploy stun guns, but Black continues to fight back, shouting at officers, “Shoot me.”
While it appears Black is experiencing some kind of crisis, his family told CNN that he did not have any mental health issues and was not on any prescribed medication.
“We believe the officers were complicit in bringing him to that state of mind,” Black family attorney Michael Wright told CNN.
Eventually, correctional officers overpower Black, putting him in a safety restraint chair, which is used by jailers to “control combative, self-destructive or potentially violent inmates to reduce the risk of physical harm to both the inmate and staff,” according to a Facebook post by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Dayton.
About five minutes into the video, Black is forced forward by correctional officers while restrained in the chair, with his hands behind his back.
An officer can be heard saying, “Let him tire himself out.”
At this point in the video, Black can be heard saying, “Help me.”
“It’s very evident to me he was gagging,” Black’s mother told CNN about the video. “As a mom, when you hear or watch your son in that vulnerable position, it makes a horrific situation even more horrific.”
By the seven-minute mark of the video, Black is leaned back in the chair and appears unconscious, according to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office. One officer continues to firmly hold his face back, which is now restrained in a mask.
“Can you get him out of this chair because I don’t feel a heartbeat … I don’t feel a heartbeat,” a nurse can be heard saying after checking Black with a stethoscope.
Minutes later, some of the same officers involved in restraining Black are seen performing CPR on him. Black was eventually transported to Miami Valley Hospital by the Dayton Fire Department, where he died two days later.
Black’s cause of death was ruled a homicide, likely caused by “mechanical and positional asphyxia,” according to the coroner’s office preliminary findings.
In an interview with CNN, his mother, Misty Black, said correctional officers murdered him.
“They murdered him. They put him in a position that killed him. It was a homicide.”
The Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association defended the deputies involved in a statement to CNN, and said several officers were used to contain Black because of his “size and strength.”
“In an effort to prevent Mr. Black from injuring or killing himself, Officers had to secure Mr. Black. Consistent with their training and practice, Officers placed Mr. Black in a forward-leaning position bent at the waist with Officers controlling his movement,” an OPBA statement to CNN said.
“During this time, Mr. Black continued to yell and resist movements. Officers and Mr. Black remained in that position in order to allow Mr. Black to calm down and tire himself out,” the statement added. “All of the OPBA Members involved with this incident performed their duties justly and humanely and the OPBA stands behind our Members.”
The 10 employees involved in the incident were placed on paid administrative leave as the investigation continues, the sheriff’s statement said.
Black’s mother said he was preparing to take a test to obtain his CDL to become a truck driver. Instead, they recently laid him to rest.
“What she saw on that video is what we all saw, it’s the murder of her son,” family attorney Wright told CNN.
“I expressed my deepest condolences to Mr. Black’s family and assured them that the Sheriff’s Office will continue to fully cooperate with all independent investigations,” Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck said in a statement. “I also promised that once the criminal investigations are complete, there will be a thorough internal review and investigation to ensure accountability and transparency.”
The Black family expressed gratitude for the sheriff’s condolences, but noted that it does not address the actions of the corrections officers involved.
His family is calling on the sheriff to resign and is now considering civil litigation.
“My son was my gentle giant. My baby. My protector. He was the most giving person you would ever meet,” his mother said.
The Dayton police homicide unit is actively investigating the incident and will present the case to the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, a sheriff’s spokesman told CNN.
CNN’s Diego Mendoza, Devon M. Sayers and Shawn Nottingham contributed to this report
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