CLEVELAND — A woman seen in a controversial video inside the Cuyahoga County Jail is now suing the corrections officers involved in what her attorneys are calling a “brutal, torturous” attack.
Chantelle Glass filed the civil-rights complaint Tuesday against officers Idris-Farid Clark and Robert Marsh for the July 16, 2018, incident.
The suit alleges claims for excessive force, First Amendment retaliation, assault, battery, failure to train and supervise employees and related state-law claims including civil liability.
We first reported on the video, which was released to us in late May, that shows two corrections officers punching and using pepper spray on Glass while she was tied up in a restraint chair.
“The complaint alleges that on July 16, 2018, Ms. Glass, a mother of three, was booked into the county jail on an old misdemeanor traffic warrant from New Jersey,” her attorney Subodh Chandra said in a press release Wednesday morning. “She was released two days later when New Jersey officials confirmed they did not want her extradited on the old warrant.”
Robert Marsh and Idris-Farid Clark were indicted and charged in April for their role in the incident. The two were placed on administrative leave by the county, and have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.
In the video, investigators say you can see Marsh wheel in the restraint chair as Clark shakes a can of pepper spray. Later, Glass is escorted by a corrections officer to the restraint chair in handcuffs. Next, Marsh is seen tying Glass to the restraint chair before another corrections officer tilts the chair back, which led Glass’ leg to go in the air nearly kicking Marsh. Marsh responded by punching Glass in the face. Subsequently, Clark pepper sprayed Glass directly in her eyes.
Glass and her attorneys held a press conference about the lawsuit Wednesday morning, which you can watch in full HERE:
During the press conference, Glass offered the following statement:
“I just thank God and I’m able that I’m able to stand in front of you guys and tell my story. To stand up for everyone who’s been abused by the Cuyahoga County correctional officers. All I want is justice and peace. I do think about July 16, 2018, every day. What if I would’ve stopped breathing in that restraint chair? Why did they do this to me? I sat in that chair that day and prayed over and over that I wouldn’t die. I have three beautiful children to live for, and I just thank God that I’m alive and able to seek justice against these correction officers.”
Here's how Chandra details the lawsuit:
According to the complaint, Ms. Glass repeatedly requested to make a phone call after being booked. The suit alleges that corrections officers threatened to tie her up and mace her if she did not stop asking to make her phone call. When she persisted, the suit alleges—and the video shows—corrections officers Robert Marsh and Sgt. Idris-Farid Clark removed Ms. Glass from her cell and strapped her into a restraint chair.
The complaint alleges that before Ms. Glass was brought out of her cell and placed in the restraint chair, Sgt. Clark as seen in the video shook a can of pepper spray before returning it to his tactical vest:
As the suit alleges—and the video shows—Ms. Glass cooperated with the officers and they walked her to the restraint chair, strapped her waist, removed her handcuffs, and strapped her wrists and shoulders to the chair, rendering her immobile. The complaint alleges that as Marsh tightened the straps, Sgt. Clark removed the pepper spray from his vest and shook it again:
The complaint alleges that when Marsh reached between Ms. Glass’s legs, she reflexively drew her knees together and Marsh hit her in the head.
A moment later, the suit alleges, Sgt. Clark made good on the earlier threat and began pepper spraying her directly in the face from six inches away, holding her hair to prevent her from averting her eyes:
The suit further alleges that other corrections officers in the room failed to take steps to protect Ms. Glass.
Only after the attack did Sgt. Clark turn on his body-worn camera, the suit claims. Unlike the overhead surveillance video, the body-worn camera captures audio as well as video of the subsequent events. Ms. Glass sought these videos, which are public records, from the county in April, but the county did not provide them until Ms. Glass filed suit in the Supreme Court of Ohio to obtain videos.
The complaint alleges that, after deploying the pepper spray, corrections officers unreasonably delayed beginning decontamination procedures, failed to respond to Ms. Glass’s pleas about having asthma and being unable to breathe, and failed to properly decontaminate Ms. Glass to remove the pepper-spray residue. As the suit alleges—and the video shows—Ms. Glass cried and begged in evident agony while corrections officers dilly-dallied to begin decontamination procedures:
The suit also alleges—and the video shows—that after spraying Ms. Glass’s white dress with water, corrections officers wheeled her into the co-ed infirmary making no effort to cover her exposed body:
The suit further alleges—and the video shows—that once Ms. Glass reached the infirmary, Diane Lessmann, R.N.—consistent with the deliberate indifference displayed by the corrections officers—failed to ensure that Ms. Glass was properly decontaminated or otherwise provide her with adequate medical care. The complaint alleges and the body-worn camera footage shows that Lessmann winked and laughed with corrections officers as Ms. Glass writhed in agony:
And the suit alleges that other corrections officers captured on Defendant Clark's bodycam found the torture of Ms. Glass and her agony quite funny:
The complaint alleges that due to the failure to remove the pepper-spray residue, Ms. Glass experienced burning pain for weeks after the attack and continues to experience significant emotional distress as a result of the ordeal.
The complaint claims that Cuyahoga County tolerated and encouraged a culture of sadistic violence by corrections officers against incarcerated citizens and details numerous instances of abuse against other victims. The complaint further asserts that the county failed to adequately train and supervise its corrections employees.