Now that he is no longer an actual sheriff with Milwaukee County in Wisconsin, ex-Sheriff David Clarke can stump for President Trump all he likes. When he’s not too busy making the rounds in the conservative media, however, the would-be Homeland Security official is still facing scrutiny for the April 2016 death of Terrill Thomas, an inmate at the Milwaukee County Jail whose death occurred while the facility was being overseen by Clarke. On Monday, state prosecutors brought charges against three of the jail’s staffers and none against Clarke, who the official inquest insists “wasn’t directly involved in Thomas’ death.”
Monday’s announcement comes straight from the Milwaukee District Attorney’s Office, which has been investigating the matter for over a year. According to the Associated Press:
Supervisor Kashka Meadors and jail deputy James Lee Ramsey-Guy are both charged with neglect of a resident of a penal facility, a felony that punishable by up to 3 ½ years in prison. Prosecutors say Meadors ordered Ramsey-Guy to shut off the water.
Jail Cmdr. Nancy Lee Evans is charged with felony misconduct and misdemeanor obstructing an office. Prosecutors say she failed to preserve surveillance video showing the water turned off and lied to police about what the footage showed. If convicted of both charges, Evans could face more than four years in prison.
Thomas died from severe dehydration in April 2016 after the staffers shut off the water to his cell as punishment for flooding another one. Earlier last year, the investigation into Thomas’ death revealed the parties responsible for turning his cell’s water off did not inform their colleagues of the disciplinary action, nor did they document it. As a result, the inmate was left without water for an entire week before he was found dead of dehydration. As for Sheriff Clarke, the investigation did not target him directly.
(Via Associated Press)