MASSILLON, Ohio — A new surveillance video shows the attack on an Indian River Correctional officer in October 2022. The officer is sharing what he remembers about being jumped and beaten at the facility.
We don’t just report the initial story—we follow through to its conclusion. Read and watch our previous reporting on this story below and see more stories that we've followed through on here.
This has taken an emotional toll on David Upshaw. When News 5 Investigators spoke with his wife, Patricia, last month, she said he has moments of depression.
The man responsible is now in prison.
The surveillance video begins with Upshaw making his rounds.
In seconds, he’s flat on the floor.
In an emotional interview with the USA Today Ohio Network, Upshaw recalls the attack.
“I could feel something behind me. When I turned to see what it was, I could just feel blood on my head,” Upshaw said.
It was Oct. 18, 2022, at Indian River Juvenile Correctional.
“I just went down,” Upshaw said.
On the surveillance video, Demetrice Taylor sneaks up behind Upshaw, jumps on top and whales on him.
Upshaw says he remembers speaking with Taylor at his door, but he only made facial expressions.
“I was surprised because I never thought we were at that level,” Upshaw said.
Upshaw says the kids were mad after fights kept them in their cells for long hours, and he was told not to let them out.
“They wanted to wait until everybody calms down,” Upshaw said.
On this night, Taylor rigged his door lock and hit Upshaw with his computer tablet and his radio. Upshaw said his man-down button didn’t work. But he made it to the dayroom himself for help.
“I never determined what set him off,” Upshaw said.
The USA Today Ohio investigation shows in 2022, 254 guards and other employees were attacked at Ohio’s three juvenile prisons.
The Department of Youth Services says violence overall against Indian River staff declined by 31%. The decrease in violence is connected to every officer receiving a body camera and upper management receiving OC spray for extreme circumstances.
But the union said supervisors are afraid they’ll get in trouble if they use it.
“Had they wanted to make changes, they would have made changes prior to David getting hurt,” said Patricia Upshaw.
Since the attack, David Upshaw has vertigo and uses a walker to get around.
His wife told News 5 Investigators last month she doesn’t want her husband to return to Indian River.
“Some days are good, and he’s up and laughing and living life and other days it’s like he’s lost everything that he was able to do,” she said.
Union leaders blame the lack of control on staffing issues. Upshaw’s wife said her husband had been pulling double shifts.
The USA Today Ohio investigation revealed Upshaw was working alone the night he was attacked.
Youth Services says they’ve been aggressively trying to hire new people.
Just today, Governor DeWine announced he’s forming a new working group to examine juvenile corrections.
The group will review and offer recommendations on things like youth safety and mental health services and examine staffing levels, safety, and training.
USA TODAY’s network of Ohio newspapers, which includes our media partners at the Akron Beacon Journal, spent eight months investigating what happens in Ohio’s youth lockups. They found the system is plagued with problems. That investigation is responsible for some of the video used in this report. Read the Akron Beacon Journal's full story here.
