Henry County Sheriff Shoots Jail Inmate with a Bean Bag Shotgun

New Castle, IN: On July 6, Henry County Sheriff John Sproles shot an inmate with numerous "bean bag" rounds. Inmate Marquette Antoine Neal was subdued by jail guards with "less lethal" bean bag rounds after he allegedly disobeyed commands, according to a statement from the Henry County Sheriff's Office on Tuesday. 

Sheriff Sproles admitted he fired the four rounds. 

"There are going to be times that I make a mistake. This was not one of them,” Sproles said. Neal was kicking the metal door so hard, according to Sproles, that he might break his leg or foot. 

Neal allegedly persisted in kicking "as hard as he could" despite being told to stop, according to Sproles. 

“I cannot allow people to injure themselves,” Sproles said. “I can’t let them break his ankle while we’re all there looking at him.” 

“I’m not tolerating inmates running the jail,” Sproles said. 

Attorney Mark Nicholson

Criminal defense attorney Mark Nicholson asked, "So, the Sheriff can't allow people to injure themselves because he rather injure them himself? And when has any jail inmate ran a jail? Sounds like the Sheriff is trying some Machiavellian excuse to justify his excessive force." 

Prior to the altercation on July 6, according to Sproles, Neal had a history of violence.  Assistant jail commander Stacey Guffey claimed that Neal had previously served time in the former jail as a Henry County inmate. Neal hurt four Henry County law enforcement officers at that time. 

Attorney Nicholson wonders, "Was this payback for before?" 

Sproles claimed he had several strategies for compel cooperation. He had a number of options for entering the cell, including using a Taser, a K9 unit, armored and armed officers, or tear gas. 

Sheriff Didn't Request Deputies Help

The sheriff did not have the option of bringing a group of officers into the cell with Neal. So, Sheriff Sproles shot instead.

“I definitely am not going to send people in there,” Sproles said. “I’m not going to put my people’s lives at risk to get you to comply. We have tools for that.” 

"The nature of their work is to put their lives at risk, " Nicholson said. "Don't be in law enforcement if you're too afraid to put your life at risk doing your job." 

No Gas: Sheriff Shoots

Since the gas would have spread to adjacent cells and affected other convicts, the sheriff claimed he did not want to use tear gas. Any jail staff members without masks would have been rendered incapacitated by the gas as well. Mr. Sproles added that it would have been challenging to discharge a Taser or shock gun safely within the jail. 

No K9: Sheriff Shoots

Mr. Sproles claimed he was hesitant to send a K9 team inside the cell because he was concerned Neal would have been gravely injured by the dog. Neal could have killed the dog, he was also concerned. 

"I'm glad he didn't use a dog. I can't remember the last time an unarmed inmate or unarmed suspect ever killed a dog. But plenty of dogs have killed and permanently disfigured unarmed suspects." Attorney Nicholson replied. 

To get Neal to stop kicking the walls of the cell, Sheriff Sproles decided to deploy less deadly bean bags bullets. 

The shotgun shell contains the bean bag rounds. The round is made to flatten out rather than leave a wound after contact. A muscle spasm may result from the bean bag hitting a muscle, forcing the individual to halt what they are doing. 

The Henry County Sheriff's Office, according to Sproles, uses a specific bean bag bullet that is intended to be fired at point-blank range. 

Sproles claims that Neal required two stitches behind his right knee and eight stitches behind his left knee. 

Sproles requested a court order to have Neal returned to the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) following the use-of-force incident. 

According to Guffey, the IDOC offers a "Safekeeping" program for prisoners who pose a risk to themselves or others or who might not be safe in a general population setting. According to Guffey, the Safekeeping program is also for non-compliant offenders who county jails are unable to manage. 

On July 6 in the evening, Neal went back to the Henry County Jail. That evening, no new instances were reported. The following morning, a court-approved the IDOC transfer order. At 2:45 p.m., Neal was transported by the Henry County Sheriff's Office to the IDOC prison in Plainfield on Saturday, July 9. 

Indiana Civil Rights Lawyer

If you have been the victim of jail or prison abuse by correctional officers, call the Law Office of Mark Nicholson at 317-667-0718.