SANTA CLARA COUNTY — The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has just announced the formal charging of a Santa Clara County Corrections Officer for a 2013 incident in the jail during which the guard repeatedly kicked an inmate in the head as he was being held on the floor by other officers.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Timmy Tri, 35, was arrested yesterday and is expected to be arraigned next month at the Hall of Justice on felony charges of assault and battery by an officer and assault with deadly force.
The prosecutor John Chase stated, “Tri personally inflicted great bodily injury on the inmate.”
Chase said, “Guards sometimes need to use force to subdue an inmate for a variety of reasons, but they must always maintain self-control. There’s no justification for kicking an inmate in the head and face while he is pinned to the floor.”
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office following up on the case first rejected the findings in 2014, However, believing that a wrong had in fact been committed, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office resubmitted the case this year.
The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office reported that the incident took place on the fifth floor of the jail on October 3, 2013 after a dispute between the inmate and another corrections officer.
According to Chase, a physical altercation ensued in which the in-custody inmate was tackled to the floor in order to subdue him. As the inmate was being held down by two other correctional officers, Tri kicked and punched the inmate the head repeatedly.
The inmate was treated for his injuries which required stitches. The inmate also suffered a fractured bone in his face. If convicted of felony assault, Tri could face up to seven years in prison.
