Confinement Officer Arrested on Felony Battery Charges

During the early morning hours of Monday, January 01, 2018 Officer Davis was conducting inmate “roll call” in one of the housing units at the jail. While verifying the inmate count, Officer Davis was subjected to a series of verbal taunts from a group of inmates. Officer Davis elected to enter a cell and challenge one of the inmates to a confrontation, which culminated in Davis striking the inmate several times in the face. The inmate fell and struck his head on a metal bunk, resulting in serious bodily injury.

The jail command staff began an immediate review of the incident and determined that the force used by Officer Davis was not justifiable. The incident was then referred to the Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Section. The inmates who were present during the altercation were interviewed and available surveillance video preserved.

Officer Davis was interviewed by a Sheriff’s Office detective this morning and admitted to entering the cell and striking the inmate. After his statement was taken, Officer Davis was placed into custody and booked into the jail. His employment with the office was terminated shortly after his arrest.

Sheriff Dave Wedding stated, “Officer Davis has been an employee for approximately seven months, having completed his training in August of 2017. All confinement officers are trained in verbal de-escalation techniques, inmate management, defensive tactics and the legal aspects of the use of force. Nothing in the way Officer Davis conducted himself last Monday conformed to his training or met the minimum standards of conduct we expect from our officers and deputies.” Sheriff Wedding added, “While the job of a confinement officer is emotionally challenging, we do not excuse illegal conduct and will always hold our staff accountable for their actions.”

ARRESTED: 

Joshua Jemuel Davis, 30, of Evansville. Battery resulting in Serious Bodily Injury as a Level 5 Felony.