JUST IN: Officer Assaulted by Jail Inmate

The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office has charged an inmate who assaulted a confinement officer in the jail.

On Sunday, November 10, 2019, at 4:05 PM a female confinement officer was attempting to speak with an unruly female inmate when she was assaulted and injured. The inmate, Alexius Neal, shoved the confinement officer against a fence and punched her multiple times in the face. The officer fell to the ground and was then kicked in the face by Neal. Neal continued to punch the officer in the face as the officer attempted to restrain Neal. Two female inmates came to the officer’s aid. Neal was further restrained by responding to confinement officers.

The injured officer received lacerations above her left eye and was later diagnosed with a concussion. She was treated and released from the emergency room and then driven home where she is presently recuperating.

Neal was already in custody on charges of Domestic Battery, Battery on Law Enforcement, Resisting Law Enforcement, Intimidation, Disorderly Conduct and a Petition to Revoke Probation. Neal was housed in an all-female unit at the time of the assault. The female housing unit is one of eight housing units of the jail. Each individual housing unit contains anywhere from 64 to over 100 inmates and is staffed by just one confinement officer.

In an interview with WEVV 44 News today Sheriff Wedding stated, “I am a proponent of taking care of jails in the State of Indiana. It is time for our state government to address jails and fund it properly, staff it properly and build properly.” Sheriff Wedding added, “I’ve been fighting this for four years and its falling on deaf ears. We need people to wake up and understand that we deal with a very tough population and we need help…. We are housing the worst of our society and most people don’t care. It’s kind of like lock them up and forget about them. We need help from our community to protect our staff and to protect people in jail as well.”

Neal is currently in jail on a $25,000 bond with a next court appearance scheduled for November 14, 2019.

ARRESTED:

Alexius Dededrianna Neal (pictured above in August 2019), 24, of Evansville. Aggravated Battery as a Level 3 Felony, Battery on a Law Enforcement Officer as a Level 5 Felony, Resisting Law Enforcement as a Level 6 Felony.

Presumption of Innocence Notice: The fact that a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.