Ohio, Investigators say a deputy was violently assaulted by an inmate Friday morning in the Mahoning County Jail.
Just after 10:00 a.m., Lucky Mitchell violently attacked Deputy Anthony Lucas. The assault was captured on surveillance video at the jail.
Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene said Mitchell tried to strangle Lucas after the deputy came back into the “O- Pod,” or disciplinary cell, where Mitchell was placed for spitting on an officer. Mitchell was on what is described as a “mandatory one-hour recreation period” when the ordeal took place.
“He asked the officer working the pod at the time if he could get him some toilet paper and when he was getting him the toilet paper, he asked him to look up on the computer when his next court date was,” Greene said.
Once Lucas came back into the pod, Mitchell tried slipping a noose, allegedly made from a t-shirt, over the deputy’s head to choke him.
“It was a pretty intense altercation that took place and I’m sure when an officer has somebody try to slip something over their head to choke them with, they’re gonna end up fighting pretty hard for their life.”
The pair fought with each other for about a minute before two other inmates entered the cell to help hold Mitchell back until help arrived.
“Obviously, Deputy Lucas was having a hard time getting to his radio during the tussle, and so in this particular instance, it helped having the other inmates assist the officer,” Greene said. “Having that happen with inmates assisting you, you’re never going to know which way that’s going to happen. They could have been in on it, but in this particular instance, it was beneficial.”
Mitchell is now considered a high-risk inmate, which means he will have increased restrictions in the jail.
“We’ll be conferring with the prosecutor’s office on what the charges will be, but we are certainly looking at the possibility of an attempted murder charge,” Greene said.
Greene says Lucas was released from St. Elizabeth’s with minor bumps and bruises, and is doing okay Friday night.
Mitchell was jailed on a charge of carrying a concealed weapon on June 25, according to jail records. Greene said he does not believe the attack was fueled by recent protests and shootings related to police-involved shootings throughout the U.S.
