A former D.C. corrections officer was charged with assaulting a detained person.
The office of U.S. Attorney for D.C. Matt Graves announced the charges against former officer Marcus Bias on Wednesday. Bias was indicted on charges of using unreasonable force in June 2019 after he allegedly pushed the head of a person he escorted to a pretrial hearing into a metal door frame at the Department of Corrections.
Bias faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence, a term of supervised release, and other fines.
OFFICIALS INVESTIGATE TWO POSSIBLE OVERDOSE DEATHS IN DC JAIL
This is the third case against a D.C. corrections officer this year. Officer Beverly Williams was arrested and charged in September for conspiracy, bribery, and smuggling in connection to a “monthslong operation” that brought forbidden items, including drugs, into the jail, per DCist.
A jail inmate and his family member were also given similar charges for their role in the operation. Officer Johnson Ayuk in February was charged with bribery and providing or possessing contraband in prison. He allegedly took money from an inmate’s girlfriend to smuggle forbidden items into the facility.
There have been eight deaths in D.C.’s Department of Corrections in 2022, per DCist. Deaths have been reported as anything from suicide to accidental drug overdoses.
Families of two others who have died, Treyvon Littles and Giovanni Love, are still seeking answers for their loved ones’ deaths. Medical examiners have not been able to determine the cause of Littles’s death, but Love’s death was ruled a suicide.
In May, officers began investigating the deaths of Ramone O’Neal and Sean Lee, who were found unresponsive in their cells and pronounced dead from suspected overdoses. Neither person showed signs of trauma or suicide, per authorities.
An October 2021 inspection by the U.S. Marshals Service found “pervasive drug use” within the jail, as well as “systemic failures” and unsuitable living conditions.
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D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has previously said the removal of drugs from the city’s jails is a top priority for the local government.
“I don’t know that any jail is contraband-proof, but we certainly have our focus on keeping all illegal items out of the jail,” she told reporters in May. “When our investigation is complete, we’ll know more.”
