LANSING (WWJ) A Mount Pleasant corrections officer has pled guilty to assaulting an inmate.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced Christopher Cluley, 48, pled to one count each of Aggravated Assault and Willful Neglect of Duty on Friday for assaulting an Isabella County man who was an inmate at the jail.
Cluley had to sign an affidavit of decertification and an agreement to not re-certify as a corrections officer, meaning he will never work in that profession again in Michigan. He also faces one year in prison or a $1,000 fine for each misdemeanor.
“Corrections officers have a sworn obligation to protect those in their custody and must be held accountable when they break their oaths,” Nessel said in the release. “I applaud the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department, the Michigan State Police, and my prosecutors for their efforts that made today’s plea possible.”
According to the Attorney General’s Office, the assault happened in spring of 2020 when Cluley was working in the Isabella County Jail in Mount Pleasant as the administrator in charge. The inmate was to be transferred to a different cell because he had a verbal disagreement with another corrections officer.
“Once the inmate was standing just outside of the cell, video evidence shows Cluley grabbed the inmate, spun him around and pushed him into the cell door before then pushing him into the wall next to the cell door,” the press release stated. “Then, after walking the inmate to the new cell, Cluley pushed the inmate to the ground, where the inmate cried out in pain upon crashing to the floor.”
An X-ray showed the inmate had a fractured left knee.
Cluley was placed on Administration Leave while Isabella County Sheriff’s Department conducted an internal investigation. Michigan State Police and MSP’s Special Investigation Section also investigated and referred to the Department of Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit.
Cluley will be sentenced in June in a Circuit Court in Mount Pleasant.