A Cuyahoga County corrections officer accused of assaulting and unlawfully restraining an inmate pleaded guilty Friday to his role in the incident, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Idris-Farid Clark pleaded guilty to attempted assault and extortion, both third-degree felonies, as well as unlawful restraint. Clark was accused of pepper spraying Cuyahoga County Jail inmate Chantelle Glass in the face while she was restrained in a chair in 2018.
The extortion charge was added after Clark attempted to force a co-worker to testify in his defense, the AG's press release said.
Clark and corrections officer Robert Marsh – who was accused of striking Glass in the head during the incident, which was captured on surveillance cameras – were indicted by a special grand jury last April. That grand jury was convened after report from the U.S. Marshals Service called conditions at the jail “inhumane.”
Clark’s sentencing hearing is set for Feb. 27. The sentence could be up to six years of jail time.
Glass also has a civil suit pending against the county and two deputies. That civil suit is on pause during the criminal proceedings against Clark, said attorney Ashlie Case Sletvold.
"The judge in the civil rights case essentially put us on hold while we're waiting for the criminal proceedings to be worked out," Sletvold said. Once the criminal sentencing is complete next month, she said, the civil suit can resume.
The criminal charges against Clark did include a misdemeanor charge for interfering with Glass' civil rights, but Clark did not plead guilty to it.
"While [Glass] expressed her desire to see him plead guilty to the charge of interfering with her civil rights — because that's part of what he did — she was grateful for and satisfied with the attorney general's efforts to bring this perpetrator to justice," Sletvold said.
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