PORTLAND, Maine — A Cumberland County jail guard has been acquitted of charges that he assaulted an inmate.
The jury deliberated for about an hour on Wednesday before finding Nicholas Stein not guilty on the misdemeanor charge.
Stein was accused of dragging and punching inmate Brian Cote last June.
Cote testified Tuesday that he was injured after a jump from the second-floor balcony. He says Stein dragged him 200 feet and punched him in the face instead of summoning medical help as required. Cote says he jumped because he had been denied his medications.
Stein’s lawyer says her client is grateful for the jury’s verdict. She tells The Portland Press Herald that Stein “was just doing the best he could in a bad situation.”
Didn’t they have video of this guard punching the inmate?
no- just the dragging him across the floor part- after he jumped-
The guard was pulling him to the medical unit. Because the inmate couldn’t walk
Good. Justice served.
Now for making the guard go thru this and have to hire a lawyer, let the guard go kick his arse for real !
I’m not saying that I’m for the inmate, because I’m not. Anybody that gets put in jail needs to man up and deal with it. The only thing that I found strange is the dragging part. I’ve taken enough first aide classes to know that when you don’t know the extent of a person’s injuries, you don’t move them. This guy could have suffered internal injuries that could have been made worse by moving him. Do I care? No. The only reason I mention it is because this inmate might have gotten some cash if it had. The jail should hold some first aide training.
This was on the front page a few days ago, this trial. Now that the man is found not guilty we have to search all over the website to find it out.