INDIANAPOLIS — The death of Marion County Sheriff's Deputy John Durm has raised serious questions about safety and security.
13News reviewed the Marion County Sheriff's Department's general orders and found the office possibly violated its own policies and procedures.
The policy states, "It shall be the policy of the Marion County Sheriff's Office, Jail Division, to provide the necessary level of supervision and control for inmates who must be transported."
On July 10, Durm was the only person transporting Orlando Mitchell to Eskenazi Hospital.
The policy also says, "Escorts shall be accomplished utilizing either two or one deputies, dependent upon the type of transport and custody level of the inmate."
It goes on to state, "High-risk transports shall entail a transport team comprised of at least two CERT members. Transports such as a non-emergency transport to Eskenazi Hospital, shall utilize two jail deputies."
The Marion County Sheriff's Office confirmed two Deputies were fired the week of Aug. 21 week involving job performance on July 10, 2023. The overall investigation has not been completed.
Investigators say Mitchell attacked the deputy in the inmate intake area on the Community Justice Campus after Durm picked him up from a hospital visit.
Officials tell 13News surveillance video shows Mitchell attacking Durm from behind, choking the deputy with the chain from his handcuffs — which was connected to a belly chain — but the belly chain was no longer around his waist.
Criminal justice experts say security protocols are in place for a reason.
"It's to protect everyone. It's to protect those incarcerated. It's to protect those who work there and to protect the community," said Eric Lambert, faculty member in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University Northwest.
Lambert also worked at the Federal Bureau of Prisons and spent most of his time at a maximum security prison.
"In most correctional agencies, one would have been armed that doesn't come in direct contact with this person. The other one would have been making sure they're secure, making sure they're moving them, making sure the handcuffs are in the back so then you cannot, if you notice them bring it up and forward, you cannot strangle anyone," Lambert said.
Some experts say transport procedures are critical.
"There's nothing that's better than having two or three officers moving a high-security prisoner," said Marc Bullaro, who worked as an assistant deputy warden at New York's Rikers Island jail for 29 years. He was also an adjunct assistant professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
"When you violate your own procedures, you set yourself up for civil liability, not to mention increase the chances of things going wrong," Bullaro said.
There is also the concern that the MCSO, as with other places, is short-staffed.
In July 2021, 13News spoke with a Marion County deputy who told us they needed to fill more than 100 positions, focusing on detention deputies and 911 operators.
After Durm's death, Marion County Sheriff Kerry Forestal told 13News the office is investigating what could have been done better.
"With only one deputy, is there, are (there) times that we do more with less staff than we do and people make tough decisions? Yeah, probably," Forestal said.
Bullaro and Lambert agree that in order to hire and retain employees, pay and benefits should be increased, among other things.
"That's also the thing that many counties cannot do. That's why a lot of people, number one, are leaving the job and number two, leaving the job and sometimes going to other states or other jurisdictions," Bullaro said.
Lambert said Durm's death opens the conversation with staff and the community about potential safety and security changes.
"What have you learned from this and what changes are you going to make in order to ensure this does not occur again? That is critical," Lambert said.