4 Okla. Co. Detention Center Officers Charged, Accused Of Assaulting Inmates

Four Oklahoma County Detention Center officers are accused of assaulting inmates.

The four are facing charges for assault and battery. Two of the incidents happened this year and one dated back to before the jail was taken over by the jail trust.

Joseph Hedderman, Antonio Rivera, Richard Clark and Frantz Desir are being accused of taking things too far with inmates.

The first incident was in April 2019 when the jail operated under then-sheriff P.D. Taylor.

Court document said there's surveillance video of Hedderman pepper spraying an inmate.

The affidavit said the inmate appeared to be temporarily blinded, she took a few steps forward and Hedderman kicked (the inmate) in her chest one time. The force from Hedderman's kick threw the inmate to the ground. Hedderman faces two charges for assault and battery.

In February 2021, an affidavit said an argument between an inmate and Rivera turned violent. The document went on to say, once the inmate was on the ground, another officer said the inmate "was not fighting anymore and told Rivera to stop." Rivera is accused of kneeing the inmate twice.

The affidavit said surveillance video showed another detention officer, Clark, jumped in and pepper-sprayed the inmate from less than a foot away.

The most recent incident happened on March 22. Court documents said Desir is caught on camera shoving an inmate who used a racial slur to address him. The affidavit said the inmate fell to the ground and hit his head, causing a laceration to his left eye lid and forehead area. He also received a bruise to his left knee.