HOUSTON — Three Harris County Sheriff's Office detention officers have been indicted for assault with bodily injury after an inmate suffered a severe head injury in 2022.
John Ziesemer, 56, Ezihuo Osiminibeke, 36, and Jimmy Poole, 47, were relieved of duty pending the outcome of an Internal Affairs investigation, HCSO said. They are no longer working in the jail.
Adael Gonzalez Garcia, 48, was in jail on a misdemeanor charge that was later dismissed. He said the three guards attacked him as they were escorting him back to his cell from the clinic and he ended up in a coma.
"All I remember was that I was beaten and woke up in a hospital," Garcia said at a news conference on Friday. "My coma was about seven days."
Garcia suffered a fractured skull and spent a month in the hospital, according to civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen who said he's representing the victim in a civil case.
Garcia said he's had to have several surgeries and continues to suffer effects from the head injury, including seizures.
"I don't feel too well, I have a continuous headache and constantly get dizzy," Garcia said. "I have not been able to work. It's been a very hard year for me and my family."
Garcia said the guards claimed he fell out of bed but that wasn't true. He said he's afraid to leave his house and his life hasn't been the same since the incident.
“Adael almost died by beating at the Harris County Jail,” Kallinen said. “We’ve seen this time and time again, yet little has been done.”
Kallinen said the indictments are unprecedented but he still wants to see more transparency and changes to hold jail employees accountable.
“They need to get body camera vides for the guards and release those videos when there’s incidents so the public can maintain trust in the jail system, because right now, there’s no trust," Kallinen said.
HSCO said the investigation is ongoing.
"HCSO officers are entrusted to provide care and a safe environment for those in our custody. We take these matters seriously and conduct an internal review of all use of force incidents," the sheriff's office said in a statement. "All employees are held accountable for their actions and must adhere to all protocols and policies."
RELATED: Family pushes for answers after Harris County Jail inmate was reportedly injured while in custody
RELATED: Man speaks after accusing Harris County Jail guards of beating him, putting him into a coma
Harris County Jail issues
There's been a history of problems at the jail in recent years.
Video of inmate being punched
In February, Kallinen released surveillance video of an inmate being punched by guards. Kallinan said the guards accused D'Alassandro Chavez-Sandoval of being loud and telling jokes during roll call.
The video shows a guard punching Chavez-Sandoval who then fought back before he was subdued by other guards.
HCSO said the inmate was provided medical treatment and charged with assault of a public servant. They said all use of force cases undergo an internal review.
Families demand transparency
In January, civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump joined 27 families who claimed there have been nearly 70 deaths in the jail in the last three years.
A candidate running against Sheriff Ed Gonzalez shared videos that allegedly showed altercations inside the jail. In one, it appears to show an inmate pushing a jailer down the stairs. In another, a civilian is punched.
Crump's team filed suit against the sheriff's office back in August of 2023 alleging mistreatment and said the videos may be indicative of a culture that may have contributed to the inmate deaths.
HCSO had no comment at the time.
Jailer charged with manslaughter
In 2023, a former Harris County Jail detention officer was charged with felony manslaughter in connection with the death of an inmate.
Jaquaree Simmons, 23, died while he was in custody during the 2021 freeze. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez announced that 11 Harris County detention officers were fired and six others were suspended in the wake of the investigation.
At that time, Eric Niles Morales, 28, was the first detention officer criminally charged in connection with an in-custody death at the jail, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.
Deadly overdoses
Also in 2023, Gonzalez launched an investigation after a dramatic increase in drug overdoses in the jail that included at least two deaths. Robert Robertson, a 24-year-old detention officer was arrested and accused of smuggling illegal drugs into the jail. The sheriff said Robertson smuggled paper laced with marijuana and K-2 synthetic marijuana into the jail. He is charged with engaging in organized crime.
Retired Houston lawyer Ronald Lewis was also charged in the drug smuggling investigation.
Teen with special needs beaten to death in jail
In 2022, the mother of 19-year-old Fred Harris filed a federal lawsuit against Harris County and the Harris County Sheriff's Office after he was killed in jail.
According to court documents, Harris was beaten and stabbed by another inmate while they shared a cell at the Harris County Jail. Harris died a few days after the attack.
Michael Paul Ownby, 25, was charged with murder and later sentenced to 50 years in prison.
Harris' mother said she begged for her son to be moved out of general population because he was special needs and weighed 98 pounds. Ownby weighed more than 240 pounds and had documented incidents of violence just days before.
According to the lawsuit, overcrowding and staffing issues at the jail led to Harris' death.