A correction's officer allegedly beat a Florida prison inmate to death while being restrained with handcuffs. Christopher Howell, 51 years old, was reportedly serving a four-year sentence at Lake County's Lake Correctional Institution during the incident.
Beaten to death
The report also stated Howell was in handcuffs when the officer beat him to death. The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC), however, declined to give comments on the case while saying the victim was pronounced dead in a hospital on Friday, as reported by CBS News.
One spokesman for the department said they are not able to release the names of involved officers in the investigations but revealed that the officers had been placed on administrative leave.
The inmate was two years into his sentence after he was arrested for the robbery of four cell phone chargers and a holding knife worth $8. Arrest warrants wrote that Howell was sentenced to four years in prison for charges of theft and assault using a deadly weapon.
It was also revealed that he returned two of the stolen chargers to the store he got them from. When asked about the other two chargers, he threatened the store personnel with his knife.
On Friday night, the department released a statement that named no one and said that it would look into the case and if any employee was found to have acted out of conduct or with illegal intentions, they would face appropriate punishment including dismissal and arrest.
According to the Miami Herald, the FDC does not tolerate its staff's misconduct and those that go against their core values.
Howell was locked in prison one month before the suspected officer involved in the killing was hired. Howell was planned to be released from prison on June 3, 2022.
The affidavit of Howell's arrest also noted he was labelled as "disabled" and had a juvenile disposition. He was, however, not under the influence of alcohol or drugs during the encounter with police officers.
The officer suspected of the murder allegedly beat Howell after the inmate refused orders from corrections personnel while two others watched without intervening.
Not the first time
The incident is not the first time that FDC encountered alleged violence in its institution with the involvement of its employees.
In a youtube video last year that was allegedly recorded from inside the institute showed a group of officers punching an inmate in the head in turns, as reported by Daily Mail.
The Office of the Inspector General of the department along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has conducted an investigation into the death of Howell.
On Tuesday, advocates are set to protest along with the office of Lake County State Attorney Brad King and will demand to have the officers involved be charged. The officer in question had not been arrested as of Monday afternoon.
Tampa Democrat Dianne Hart, who spoke several times with Howell's family had called for the arrest of the officer.
Hart added that since August 2019, there had been more than 60 arrests of correctional officers, contract workers, and medical personnel made over different illegal activities. She questioned if the FDC was building up for future illegal activities.
