It was just a matter of time...

[MAB32]

These guys are personal friends of mine.



Summit County deputies plead not guilty
By Carl Chancellor
Beacon Journal staff writer

POSTED: 05:27 p.m. EDT, Sep 11, 2007

Beacon Journal staff writer

Over the objection of the prosecution, all five Summit County Sheriff deputies charged in the death of a jail inmate last year walked out court Tuesday afternoon and went home after being granted personal recognizance bonds by a visiting judge.

The deputies Stephen Krendick, 34, charged with first-degree murder; Brian Polinger, 33, charged with third-degree reckless homicide; Mark Mayer, 26 and Dominic Martucci, 30, charged with second-degree felonious assault; and, Sgt. Bret Hadley, 35, charged with third-degree reckless homicide pleaded not guilty to the charges during their arraignment Tuesday morning in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

Prosecutors recommended a $100,000 bond for Krendick and $50,000 each for the other deputies, but visiting Judge H. F. Inderlied of Geauga County released each of the defendants on the promise they would return to court for their next appearance a pretrial hearing scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 18.

When Cuyahoga County prosecutor Jon Kosko objected to their recognizance bond, Inderlied replied: ''We have a philosophical difference.''

The judge went onto explain that the purpose of a bond is to ensure a defendant appears in court.

''There is no reason to put a number (dollar amount) on this case,'' Inderlied said, explaining that he had ''no reason to believe that they are not going to appear.''

Family members of Mark McCullaugh Jr., 28, who died from injuries he received last August while in custody at the Summit County Jail, let out a collective audible gasp when the bonds were handed down.

''This is a joke,'' said Jennifer Fox, McCullaugh's mother, who dabbed at tear- filled eyes as she walked from the second-floor courtroom.

McCullagh's father, Mark D. McCullaugh, Sr. complained that the deputies had received special treatment.

''I don't understand,'' said McCullaugh Sr. But he took solace in the fact that after a year-long investigation the deputies had been indicted in his son's death.

''At least we are here now. We will have to see what happens next time,'' McCullaugh said as he left the courtroom.

The indictments against the five deputies were announced Friday by the Cuyahoga County's Prosecutor's Office, presented the case to a Summit County grand jury. They followed a yearlong independent investigation overseen by the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

McCullaugh, an Akron resident, died Aug. 20, 2006, after a struggle at the jail with deputies. The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide after an autopsy showed the 6-foot-2, 306-pound man died of asphyxiation from multiple forms of restraint and blows, including an unspecified anal injury.

Inderlied cited the defendants long-standing ties to the community as a reason he allowed recognizance bonds. More than 60 family members and friends of the deputies filled the courtroom for the two-hour proceedings.

All five men grew up in the Akron area Kendrick, who lives in Akron is a 1992 graduate of Kenmore High School; Mayer, of Green, graduated from Garfield High School; Martucci, of Akron, graduated from Firestone High School in 1996; Polinger, of Akron, is a 1992 graduate of Springfield High School; and Hadley, of Akron, is a 1990 graduate of Green High School.

Although prosecutor Kosko said he was ''disappointed'' in the judge's bond decision, he said he didn't believe there was any favoritism shown.

''I don't think they got special treatment. They did spend the night in jail,'' said Kosko, referring to the fact that the deputies had been held in the Medina County Jail since surrendering to authorities Monday morning.

''I don't think this is an unusual case,'' Kosko said.

Beacon Journal staff writer

Over the objection of the prosecution, all five Summit County Sheriff deputies charged in the death of a jail inmate last year walked out court Tuesday afternoon and went home after being granted personal recognizance bonds by a visiting judge.

The deputies Stephen Krendick, 34, charged with first-degree murder; Brian Polinger, 33, charged with third-degree reckless homicide; Mark Mayer, 26 and Dominic Martucci, 30, charged with second-degree felonious assault; and, Sgt. Bret Hadley, 35, charged with third-degree reckless homicide pleaded not guilty to the charges during their arraignment Tuesday morning in Summit County Common Pleas Court.

Prosecutors recommended a $100,000 bond for Krendick and $50,000 each for the other deputies, but visiting Judge H. F. Inderlied of Geauga County released each of the defendants on the promise they would return to court for their next appearance a pretrial hearing scheduled for 1 p.m. on Oct. 18.

When Cuyahoga County prosecutor Jon Kosko objected to their recognizance bond, Inderlied replied: ''We have a philosophical difference.''

The judge went onto explain that the purpose of a bond is to ensure a defendant appears in court.

''There is no reason to put a number (dollar amount) on this case,'' Inderlied said, explaining that he had ''no reason to believe that they are not going to appear.''

Family members of Mark McCullaugh Jr., 28, who died from injuries he received last August while in custody at the Summit County Jail, let out a collective audible gasp when the bonds were handed down.

''This is a joke,'' said Jennifer Fox, McCullaugh's mother, who dabbed at tear- filled eyes as she walked from the second-floor courtroom.

McCullagh's father, Mark D. McCullaugh, Sr. complained that the deputies had received special treatment.

''I don't understand,'' said McCullaugh Sr. But he took solace in the fact that after a year-long investigation the deputies had been indicted in his son's death.

''At least we are here now. We will have to see what happens next time,'' McCullaugh said as he left the courtroom.

The indictments against the five deputies were announced Friday by the Cuyahoga County's Prosecutor's Office, presented the case to a Summit County grand jury. They followed a yearlong independent investigation overseen by the Ohio Attorney General's Office.

McCullaugh, an Akron resident, died Aug. 20, 2006, after a struggle at the jail with deputies. The Summit County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide after an autopsy showed the 6-foot-2, 306-pound man died of asphyxiation from multiple forms of restraint and blows, including an unspecified anal injury.

Inderlied cited the defendants long-standing ties to the community as a reason he allowed recognizance bonds. More than 60 family members and friends of the deputies filled the courtroom for the two-hour proceedings.

http://www.ohio.com/news/9719947.html

[nmap]

These guys are personal friends of mine.


I'm sorry to hear they're going through what must be a very difficult time.

It is odd, is it not, how society treats its law enforcement professionals. I suspect they are told "thank you" even less often than are members of the military.

At least the judge doesn't seem to be prejudiced against them; that's a small positive in a grim situation.

[MAB32]

My mistake. See below.

[Pete]

Here is the full storyfrom A to Z:

http://www.ohio.com/news/9672067.html

I don't think that's the full story. It reads like "Teddy Bear's Story". From resding the other LEO's stories of the run ins with him he does not sound like a Teddy Bear. 6'2" and 306 lbs - not somebody to play around with when he gets angry.

[MAB32]

Pete,

You are very correct. I talked to one of the officers who had him first. It took 6-9 officers and a Tazer to bring him down.

nmap,

thanks for those kind words. Almost everybody that was involved in this situation I know personally. It doesn't get any easier though. I cannot even begin to imagine what it is like.

[MAB32]

Akron man's life spins down, ending in his jail homicide
Mark D. McCullaugh's family says he was 'teddy bear' who ran into growing troubles

By Ed Meyer
Beacon Journal staff writer

Published on Sunday, Sep 09, 2007

His final moments were spent in a cell in the Summit County Jail's mental health unit.

Somewhere inside that unit, according to sheriff's records, Mark D. McCullaugh Jr. took his last breath on Aug. 20, 2006.

A four-man jail extraction team, the records show, had observed him ''inflicting self-harm and being disorderly.'' The team entered his cell to ''calm and move'' him, placed him in handcuffs after a struggle, then took him away for treatment by the ''medical staff.''

The next line in the sheriff's narrative stated that the extraction team ''entered'' the report did not say which room and found him ''not breathing.''

McCullaugh was pronounced dead at Akron General Medical Center at age 28. The county Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide, and on Friday, Summit County authorities released a statement that five deputies had been indicted by a county grand jury on various charges including a murder charge against one deputy following an investigation by the Ohio Attorney General's office and a presentation of evidence by the Cuyahoga County prosecutor's office.

Not always this way

If violent outbursts were a part of McCullaugh's life at the time he died, it was not always that way, as both his mother and father have said in separate interviews since his death.

McCullaugh was a big man. His jail booking records and accompanying photograph, dated Aug. 8, 2006, depicted him in a full black beard and mustache, with a smile, wide eyes and raised eyebrows. He was listed as 6 feet 2, 306 pounds.

''The way we all knew him,'' his mother, Jennifer L. Fox, said, ''he was like a big teddy bear.''

Fox, 48, who lives in Akron and tends bar at night, was married to McCullaugh's father, after whom their son is named, for less than 21/2 years.

The problems her son had in the last few months of his life were not apparent in childhood.

''I wish I could tell you all that's in my heart,'' Fox said. ''Mark didn't give me any trouble when he was growing up. Very little did I even have to discipline him.''

McCullaugh attended two high schools. He played football at East High in Akron, then decided he wanted to be on his own and moved in with his grandfather, finishing up at Midpark High in Middleburg Heights, where he continued to play football, Fox said.

One of his dreams as a teenager, she said, was to become an archaeologist.

But when McCullaugh was living with his grandfather, Fox said, he learned how to become a welder and took up that trade after high school.

In 2000, on Valentine's Day, McCullaugh married Chrystal G. Crites, whom he had met while she was working at a local store, Fox said. They had two children: a girl who recently turned 7 and a boy who recently turned 5.

''The last thing he told'' the children, Fox said, ''was that they were his little prince and princess.''

On the anniversary of his death, Fox said, she took handmade signs bearing photographs of him to the jail for a vigil. The photos showed him playing football, fishing, grilling in his backyard and holding both of his children in the hospital after his son was born, she said.

''I wanted to show them,'' Fox said, ''that he was a very decent, loving, kind human being.''

Downward spiral

But McCullaugh's life began to take a downward turn in late 2004 when he was working a steady job as a welder for Weltco Trucking Equipment in Tallmadge, Summit County court records show.

Two days after Christmas, he was on the job when he slipped outside on a patch of ice and fell, Fox said, severely injuring his back. Court records show he suffered a herniated disc and aggravated a pre-existing degenerative lumbar disc.

Weeks earlier, Fox said, her son and his wife had separated after a Thanksgiving Day fight. They eventually divorced.

McCullaugh's father, Mark D. McCullaugh Sr., 47, said his son was fired by Weltco because he could no longer work, and the younger man was living with his father for several months last year in a public housing development on Byers Avenue in Akron.

McCullaugh Sr. said his son's back injury was so painful that he had to sleep on the floor with his legs propped up on a couch.

Back surgery and heavy medication followed in the midst of a workers' compensation lawsuit against his former company, McCullaugh's mother said.

''All of the sudden, he just began acting irrationally, like he lost touch with reality. From what we heard,'' Fox said, ''his medication set off schizophrenia.''

It was then, according to accounts by Akron police and his parents, that McCullaugh's life began spiraling out of control.

He was arrested on July 10, 2006, and charged with misdemeanor assault. A short stint followed in an Oriana House rehabilitation program; then he took to the city streets as one of the homeless, his mother said.

Back to jail

At 5:30 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2006, Akron police records show a caller reported a ''suspicious person walking down the middle of the street near 77 Mill Street, heading south on High Street.''

McCullaugh told responding officers, according to the arrest records, that ''he wanted to confess his sins . . . ''
__________________

[MAB32]

Continuing...

After asking the officers to arrest him, McCullaugh started ''getting aggressive'' and ''threatened to kick our ass,'' the police report said.

Police said McCullaugh was handcuffed and, while being searched, head-butted one of the officers, causing an injury to the top of the officer's head.

''The suspect continued to resist'' the officer's commands, police said, and a stun gun was used on him. Police said McCullaugh was taken to the ground, ''then began kicking at officers.''

He was arrested on charges of felony assault, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

McCullaugh was taken to Akron City Hospital, where police reported he was out of control and had to be put into shackles. Police said he was given two injections of Haldol, a drug licensed to treat behavioral problems and psychotic disorders.

In the early hours of Aug. 8, 2006, he was taken to the county jail. McCullaugh's jail booking records stated that he ''did not want to be booked at this time. He just wanted to be left alone.''

Autopsy results

Results of an autopsy by the medical examiner's office released Oct. 16 ruled his Aug. 20 death a homicide.

The medical examiner, Dr. Lisa J. Kohler, said in a statement that the cause of death was ''asphyxiation'' from multiple forms of restraint and blows, including an unspecified anal injury.

Kohler's statement reported that McCullaugh had been restrained by the wrists and ankles and that jail personnel also had used pepper spray and a stun gun in the Aug. 20 struggle at the jail. A contributing cause of death, the medical examiner said, was ''hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,'' a medical term for coronary artery disease.

McCullaugh's ex-wife, Chrystal Georgia, is remarried and living in Trumbull County.

In 2000, on Valentine's Day, McCullaugh married Chrystal G. Crites, whom he had met while she was working at a local store, Fox said. They had two children: a girl who recently turned 7 and a boy who recently turned 5.

''The last thing he told'' the children, Fox said, ''was that they were his little prince and princess.''

On the anniversary of his death, Fox said, she took handmade signs bearing photographs of him to the jail for a vigil. The photos showed him playing football, fishing, grilling in his backyard and holding both of his children in the hospital after his son was born, she said.

''I wanted to show them,'' Fox said, ''that he was a very decent, loving, kind human being.''

Downward spiral

But McCullaugh's life began to take a downward turn in late 2004 when he was working a steady job as a welder for Weltco Trucking Equipment in Tallmadge, Summit County court records show.

Two days after Christmas, he was on the job when he slipped outside on a patch of ice and fell, Fox said, severely injuring his back. Court records show he suffered a herniated disc and aggravated a pre-existing degenerative lumbar disc.

Weeks earlier, Fox said, her son and his wife had separated after a Thanksgiving Day fight. They eventually divorced.

McCullaugh's father, Mark D. McCullaugh Sr., 47, said his son was fired by Weltco because he could no longer work, and the younger man was living with his father for several months last year in a public housing development on Byers Avenue in Akron.

McCullaugh Sr. said his son's back injury was so painful that he had to sleep on the floor with his legs propped up on a couch.

Back surgery and heavy medication followed in the midst of a workers' compensation lawsuit against his former company, McCullaugh's mother said.

''All of the sudden, he just began acting irrationally, like he lost touch with reality. From what we heard,'' Fox said, ''his medication set off schizophrenia.''

It was then, according to accounts by Akron police and his parents, that McCullaugh's life began spiraling out of control.

He was arrested on July 10, 2006, and charged with misdemeanor assault. A short stint followed in an Oriana House rehabilitation program; then he took to the city streets as one of the homeless, his mother said.

[CoLawman]

Very very scant details to draw conclusions from. Two things leap to mind however;

1. Positional Asphyxia: The restraints used as well as his obesity and pre existing coronary disease contribute to the obvious conclusion. Overwhelmingly deaths caused by positional asphyxia result from violent and prolonged struggles. Contributing to the end result is "kneeling" on the subjects neck or torso. Officers are trained to avoid this risk, but this cause of death still frequently occurs to subjects in police custody. There might be cause for civil liability, but to rise to the level of criminal culpability seems quite suspect to me.

2. Autopsy results do not mention Positional Asphyxia, yet all the classic contributing factors to conclude this as cause of death are mentioned.

Again very little information to go on but if I am those deputies I would be sleeping a little better knowing that a rational explanation for the death has been obviously overlooked.

Just my two cents.

[MAB32]

CoLawman,

We had some training in the area of P/A. Although all of the Deputies were familiar with it, it was especially well known in the "Mental & Dispensary" units of the jail. Also, all Deputies that were to work the aforementioned two areas had to have "extra" training that went along with those units.

Now, knowing the above paragraph and your excellent thread on "Positional Asphyxsiation" there was always a log that had to be kept on "ALL" inmates that are in 4 point restraints and an entry in said log every ten minutes. This was suppose to be in order to prevent P/A. What really bothers me is that Deputy Kendrick had the most "senority" of the rest with the exception of Sergeant Hadley (who I trained when he first started), is being charged with murder(?).

From what I understand to be the facts with this incident, is that the subject received counter-force equivalent to the Force Continuum with "Officer Subject Factors" mixed in in order to restrain the subject. Thus, all Deputies and Officers (APD) probably applied force equivalent to an "Active Aggressor".

Now knowing this, how does a Deputy get charged with Murder?

[Remington Raidr]

Now knowing this, how does a Deputy get charged with Murder?

Because the States Attorney is up for re-election sooner or later and can point to this case to show that he or she treats everyone equally. Getting charged and getting convicted are really worlds apart, especially with the facts as presented. Generally speaking, prosectors have an ethical obligation not to charge a crime that they believe they cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt, but they are politicians and some of them violate that ethic if it benefits them to do (remember Mike Nifong? It usually doesn't come back to bite them in the ass like it did him) but I was really offended by the comments of family members regarding the signature bonds. Bail is set to 1) ensure the accused appears and follows conditions set by the Court and 2) to protect the community. That dumb bitch can dab a tear from her eye all day, but the judge simply applied the law, no favortism involved. I would like to hear the background and aspirations of the prosecutor who made the charging decision.

[CoLawman]

CoLawman,

We had some training in the area of P/A. Although all of the Deputies were familiar with it, it was especially well known in the "Mental & Dispensary" units of the jail. Also, all Deputies that were to work the aforementioned two areas had to have "extra" training that went along with those units.

Now, knowing the above paragraph and your excellent thread on "Positional Asphyxsiation" there was always a log that had to be kept on "ALL" inmates that are in 4 point restraints and an entry in said log every ten minutes. This was suppose to be in order to prevent P/A. What really bothers me is that Deputy Kendrick had the most "senority" of the rest with the exception of Sergeant Hadley (who I trained when he first started), is being charged with murder(?).

From what I understand to be the facts with this incident, is that the subject received counter-force equivalent to the Force Continuum with "Officer Subject Factors" mixed in in order to restrain the subject. Thus, all Deputies and Officers (APD) probably applied force equivalent to an "Active Aggressor".

Now knowing this, how does a Deputy get charged with Murder?

Well, since you asked!

Your agency has provided the training to avoid this type of death, through training and implementation of safeguards. If the deputies failed to conduct themselves within policy, ignoring the know risk factors that resulted in death, then you have to look at negligence.

I would also suspect that somebody or somebodies gave testimony before the grand jury that established the elements of the crimes charged.

Concur with Raidr, doesn't matter about our speculation, the officers will get their day in court. Now, if some of these deputies begin taking plea bargains, then Katy bar the door, there is more to it than meets the eye!

[mdb23]

Ok, I understand how the asphyxiation may have occurred, and I can understand how an individual may get bruised and cut during a struggle......

What's the deal with the "anal injury?"

These guys will get their day in court, and all of the facts will hopefully come out. Until then, all we're doing is speculating.

BTW, is there film of the incident? Most facilities are monitored by closed circuit camera. That could be the deciding factor.

[MAB32]

All of you have posted some very interesting responses. Based upon them I will bet that they all will "plea bargain" for reduced sentences and are in fact on their own. Yep, CoLawman, it is all starting to make a little more sense to me.

Remington Radr, you are correct in your response as far as being charged is one thing but, being found guilty is whole different ballgame.

Pete, your right with your comments too.

See the only thing that is bothering me now is the fact that no Akron Police Officers involved in the initial contact with this dirt bag are being charged with anything. The APD is no difference than any other large city when it comes to getting you arse kicked if you ellect to fight instead of giving up.

Now, how in the world he received an "Anal" injury is beyond me. Any "docs" here want to chime in on how that might have occurred during his engagements with the Deputies and Police Officers? We all carry an ASP as a batton. Could the Tazer have caused this to happen in some unique way?