Ohio Hero Deputy Dan Comerford, who was previously placed on paid administrative leave (AKA paid vacation) for assaulting a 17 year old in juvenile court back in April while the teen was handcuffed, has been fired by the Cuyohoga County Sheriff’s Department.
However, it was also announced that the Comerford would not be facing any charges for the attack on a defenseless 17 year old. The assault was reportedly caught on court surveillance cameras, but that video has not been released.
A previous report from Cleveland.com reporter Cory Schaffer details (somewhat) the incident:
The sheriff’s department placed Comerford, a 14-year veteran, on paid administrative leave the day of the April 5 incident, Cuyahoga County spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said.
Comerford was leading the handcuffed 17-year-old boy from a courtroom in the juvenile justice center back to a detention cell after a hearing when the incident occurred, Madigan said.
The incident was captured on surveillance cameras, but the county refused to release the video when asked in April, citing an exemption in Ohio public records law that covers “security infrastructure.”
The internal investigation was conducted by the Ohio state Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), who then forwarded the findings of that investigation to the county prosecutor’s office.
The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office subsequently (and not surprisingly) then concluded that there was not enough evidence to sustain criminal charges against Deputy Comerford. Because, apparently, a video of a cop hitting a teenager just isn’t enough evidence. Even when that teenager is handcuffed at the time.
