CLEVELAND — A Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office corrections officer who pleaded guilty earlier this year to assaulting an inmate over a sandwich complaint in 2018 has been suspended from duty.
The county sent a letter to jailer John Wilson stating that he has been suspended for a term of 15 days starting Sept. 2.
The suspension stems from a court case that alleged Wilson attacked an inmate on Feb. 8, 2018 during an altercation that followed a complaint over food.
The letter states that on April 19, 2019, Wilson was initially charged with felonious assault, a second-degree felony; falsification, a first-degree misdemeanor; interfering with civil rights, a second-degree misdemeanor, and unlawful restraint, a third-degree misdemeanor.
On Feb. 19, 2020, Wilson pleaded guilty to an assault charge which was a first-degree misdemeanor. He was placed on probation for three years and ordered to complete 250 hours of community service. His six-month jail sentence was suspended.
On July 28, 2020, the union representing Wilson said in a pre-disciplinary conference that the jailer “never had any intent” to injure the inmate and he was only trying to “regain control of the situation," the letter states.
The county said Wilson violated Rule #38, which is “committing acts which constitute a misdemeanor.”
According to the letter, the county considered Wilson’s employment record for the three years prior to incident and the charge he pleaded guilty to, and determined that a 120 (15-day) suspension would be issued.
RELATED: Cuyahoga County jailer who assaulted inmate over sandwich complaint sentenced to 3 years probation
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