MUNCIE, IN — A former prison guard from Muncie has been sentenced to five months in federal prison for battering an inmate at the Pendleton Correctional Facility.
According to an affidavit, Shaunacy A. Edmonds — who had been a sergeant at the Pendleton Correctional Facility — in May 2024 repeatedly struck a 31-year-old inmate in the face while the prisoner “did not appear to be resisting staff anymore.”
An investigator with the state Department of Correction reviewed a video of the incident and reported the Muncie correctional officer “delivered a knee strike” to the inmate’s chest while he was seated in a chair with his hands restrained behind his back.
Interviewed by investigators, the prisoner, who is from Marion County, said the incident left him with a bloody face and busted lip.
He acknowledged he had earlier made comments threatening to spit on prison staff members and also told a correctional officer other than Edmonds that he intended to kill members of his family.
The inmate maintained he was no longer resisting officers and had been handcuffed at the time he was struck.
“Due to several statements by Edmonds not matching video, other staff interviews, the offender interview (and) evidence, Edmonds was placed under arrest and transported to the Madison County Detention Center after his interview,” the affidavit said.
The Muncie man was at first charged with battery and official misconduct in a Madison County court but was later charged with deprivation of rights under color of law in U.S. District Court.
Edmonds, now 36, pleaded guilty to that charge and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Judge James R. Sweeney II in Indianapolis on Monday, July 27.
After serving the prison sentence, Edmonds will be on supervised release for two years.
“When a corrections officer takes the law into their own hands and inflicts punitive, excessive force on an inmate, they don’t just endanger that individual, they undermine the safety and integrity of the entire facility,” Tom Wheeler, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a Thursday news release. “This kind of conduct escalates tension, encourages resistance rather than cooperation, and puts fellow officers at greater risk.
“Sgt. Edmonds’ actions were not only reckless and cruel, but a blatant betrayal of (Indiana Department of Correction) training and standards. This sentence sends a clear message: Such abuse of authority will not be tolerated.”
The release from the U.S. attorney’s office said Edmonds lifted the prisoner from a chair “and slammed him onto the floor, directly on his head.”
“Sgt. Edmonds subsequently drove his knee into (the inmate’s) head, ” the release said. “As additional correctional officers moved in to gain control of (the prisoner), Sgt. Edmonds delivered six closed‑fist strikes to (his) head. A lieutenant intervened, blocking Edmonds’ hand and ordering him to stop. Throughout the incident, (the inmate) remained handcuffed.”
A lawsuit the inmate filed against Edmonds over the incident is still pending in U.S. District Court.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter for The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Ex-prison guard from Muncie draws 5-month sentence for beating inmate
Reporting by Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press / Muncie Star Press
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By Douglas Walker, Muncie Star Press | USA TODAY Network
