MANSFIELD – A Richland County Jail corrections officer has returned to work after nearly a month away from the job due to an altercation with an inmate.
Inmate David L. Baker, 34, was charged with assault on a corrections officer after an unprovoked incident on Nov. 9 with officer Steve McDonnell, 31. According to Capt. Chris Blunk, administrator at the Richland County Jail, McDonnell has returned to work as of Saturday, Dec. 2.
The incident, Blunk said, was one of three unprovoked assaults Blunk has seen in 20 years on the job. Typically, he said, the Richland County Jail sees an average of five to 10 assaults on officers per year.
“Some of those incidents involve things like spitting on an officer,” Blunk stated.
Baker’s incident involving McDonnell was classified as a “serious” level of discipline, and he was immediately placed into lockdown, or segregation. Blunk said Baker has not acted violently since the incident on Nov. 9, and is likely to remain in segregation until approximately Dec. 8 before being moved to maximum security.
Baker was in minimum security at the Richland County Jail when the incident with McDonnell occurred. The incident report stated McDonnell was standing by supervising a nurse distributing medication before Baker approached. Blunk could not comment on whether Baker was due to receive medication the day of the incident.
According to the incident report authored by McDonnell, Baker threw an unknown liquid in McDonnell’s face and began striking McDonnell in the head with a closed fist. McDonnell struggled with Baker as Baker continued to fight back, striking McDonnell between 10 and 15 times.
With the help of several other inmates, McDonnell was able to deploy his taser, hitting Baker in the chest, and apply handcuffs. Additional officers then arrived and removed Baker to the booking area to be evaluated by jail medical staff. After the altercation, McDonnell was taken to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital for treatment for his injuries.
After the incident with McDonnell, Baker was charged with assault on a corrections officer, a fifth-degree felony. He was originally booked into the Richland County Jail on the charge of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer, a third-degree felony.
Baker was indicted during the November session of the Richland County Grand Jury on the charge of failure to comply with the order or signal of a police officer. The charge stems from an incident on Sept. 9 where Baker led officers from multiple agencies on a high-speed chase that resulted in a car crash.
According to the incident narrative from the Richland County Sheriff’s Office, Baker was observed driving recklessly in the parking lot of Odd Lots on Ashland Road, doing “doughnuts” with his vehicle. When the sheriff’s deputy activated their overhead lights to make a vehicle stop, Baker accelerated away at a high rate of speed.
The deputy activated the sheriff’s cruiser sirens, but Baker continued in his vehicle and a pursuit was initiated. Baker would later crash his vehicle on Reed Road at the U.S. 30 exit ramp. Baker was arrested for failure to comply, and reckless operation on private property.
