Coroner Rules Ohio Prisoner Death After Homicide, Family Seeking Murder

The family of a 25-year-old man called on staff involved in the incident to be charged with murder while in custody in Ohio jail in March.

Ten Montgomery County prison employees were paid administrative leave after Montgomery County coroner ruled the homicide in which Christian Black died.

Ryan Julison, a spokesman for the law firm representing the family, said Black was arrested on March 23 and booked on March 23.

The next day, after Black began to “forcefully and repeatedly bang his head against the door of the cell”, the prison employees intervened.

Montgomery County Jail employees surpassed Ohio prisoner Christian Black.WDTN

Security camera video introduced a family’s lawyer at a press conference Monday, showing black people repeatedly slamming outside the door and officials standing outside the cell. He seemed to have forced his head against the door at least four times.

“We will admit at this point that you can see Christian’s crisis in the video, and we will realize that law enforcement really has to get in there and find a way to prevent him from hurting himself,” said Robert Gresham, an attorney. “But our problem starts with the fact that when they enter a specific cell, they end up making many mistakes and decisions that equal the intentional indifference and illegal use of force.”

The Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Monday night, requesting comments on the allegations of intentional indifference and illegal use of force.

Five videos The officer enters the cell and fights against Black. Gresham said in the cell, the police shocked him with a dizzy gun and shocked him. However, the video played at the press conference did not make it clear.

The video shows the officer taking Black out of the cell, nailing him to the ground, eventually putting his hands on with his hands and then placing him on a safety restraint chair.

The video shows that in the chair, the struggle continues, with the officer putting a mask on the black and pushing his torso forward with obvious efforts to be able to remove the handcuffs and tie his arms to the chair.

"You can see the pressure officer wearing him, and my understanding is that it almost prevents him from breathing," Gresham said.

The video shows that Black's body is obviously done, as the officer lifts the torso and ties his arms to the chair.

"He's dead," said lawyer Michael Wright.

Christian Black's parents Misti Black and Kenya Black listened to attorney Michael Wright in Dayton, Ohio on Monday.WDTN

Sheriff Strake said Black lost consciousness in the chair. Strek said medical staff had CPR before being taken to the hospital.

Two days later, on March 26, Black was pronounced dead.

According to an interactive video played by his family’s lawyers, 10 officers were involved in different locations from the time they entered the cell to the time they eventually restricted black to a chair.

Strek said a report from the coroner's office said that the cause of death was likely "mechanical and positional suffocation" and that the death was found to be homicide.

Gresham said Black is in the mental health field of the facility. Wright added that staff didn't try to save the life until 13 minutes into the cell.

The Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the claim.

"These officers didn't do anything that should be done here. They knew better. They should do better," Gresham said. "Except George Floyd knows how location choking works."

Christian's mother Misti Black said the incident would never happen.

"Now, every time I see the video, I know I'll see him for the last breath," she said.

After Streck learned of the possible cause of death, he placed all 10 employees involved in the incident on paid administrative leave.

"Because Mr. Black is in critical condition and uses physical force to limit him, I asked the Dayton Police Department to respond to the investigation incident and submit its findings to the prosecutor for review," Streck said. "This leave is a procedural step and does not mean guilt, misconduct or policy violation."

Dayton police confirmed that detectives are investigating the "use of force incident."

"Detectives assigned to the Homicide Department are actively investigating the incident involving the death of Christian Black people and introducing the case to the Montgomery County Attorney's Office at the end of the investigation," police spokesman James Rider said in a statement.

Attorneys for Black families are also conducting independent investigations, Wright said they demanded 10 employees arrested, prosecuted and convicted for the “murder of Christian Black.”

Strake said the sheriff’s office will “fully work with all independent investigations” and “once the criminal investigation is completed, a thorough internal review and investigation will be conducted to ensure accountability and transparency.”