Wyandotte County jail guard beat up handcuffed inmate in elevator, charges say
A sergeant at the Wyandotte County Adult Detention Center allegedly beat up a handcuffed inmate whose arm was being held by another deputy, according to court records.
A criminal affidavit released to The Star describes a September incident that resulted in criminal charges against two Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office employees. The sergeant is accused of punching the prisoner and slamming their head against an elevator door.
Sgt. David Toland and Deputy Marcus Johnson were charged in November after the Kansas Bureau of Investigation was called in to examine the incident.
Both face one count of misdemeanor mistreatment of a confined person. Toland is additionally charged with aggravated battery, and Johnson is charged with misdemeanor assault.
Toland is also a member of the Bonner Springs and Edwardsville school board.
The Wyandotte County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney’s office each declined to comment on the case Tuesday.
Toland’s defense attorney, Sean McCauley, declined to comment other than to say that his client “looks forward to his day in court.”
Assault in jail alleged
The incident began around 5:40 p.m. when two inmates were removed from their cells and handcuffed because they were suspected of smoking, according to the charges.
One inmate allegedly cursed and was “running (their) mouth” while they were searched. No tobacco was found on the inmate and deputies were instructed over radio to return them to their cell.
The inmate stood up and walked in the wrong direction. A deputy grabbed the inmate by the arm, which the inmate had said was sore, and escorted them to the elevator where Toland helped handcuff the inmate, according to records.
Toland allegedly repeatedly told the inmate to “shut the f--k up” as the inmate continued to speak.
When the elevator door closed, records say, Toland shoved the inmate to the opposite side of the elevator, grabbed them by the neck and punched them in the face before grabbing them by the hair and slamming their head against the elevator door. The inmate eventually slumped against the floor, prosecutors said.
According to court records, Toland yelled at the inmate until the elevator doors opened. The deputy, who never let go of the inmate’s arm during the incident, then pulled them up and escorted them off of the elevator.
While the inmate was being escorted to their cell, Toland allegedly continued to yell at the inmate telling them to respect the deputies.
The inmate allegedly tried to apologize and told Toland that they feared for their life.
“This won’t never happen, you don’t give us problems,” Toland allegedly told the inmate.
Investigation
According to court records, deputies told investigators that it was possible Toland’s actions were motivated by a belief that the inmate was going to spit.
The deputies who spoke to investigators said such conduct was uncommon for Toland. One said that it was not like the sergeant to “do something like that without a reason.”
Deputies said such incidents are normally documented, but Toland did not request reports be made.
One said the situation “looks really bad because [redacted] wasn’t written up, nor did [redacted] receive any formal discipline and there were no reports written” until the warden ordered everyone to document the incident.
Wyandotte County Sheriff Donald Ash said in November that he requested an investigation of the incident when he learned about it the next day.
Ash declined to provide details about the incident at the time but said the officers involved were on leave from the department.
Toland was given a court summons and was not arrested after he was charged. He was not booked into the jail and no booking photo of him was available.
His next court date is scheduled for January.
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 12:11 PM.
