The death of a 39-year-old inmate restrained by Sangamon County correctional officers and shocked with Tasers has been classified as a homicide, according to authorities.
Jaimeson Daniel Cody died April 28 as he was being restrained and couldn’t breathe, according to a report released Friday by Sangamon County Coroner Jim Allmon. It said an officer used his weight to apply pressure to Cody’s back as he was on the floor, according to The Springfield State Journal-Register.
An officer conducting a regular cell check saw blood on Cody’s jail-issued clothes, leading officers to enter his cell. Cody apparently resisted health checks and attempts to handcuff him. He became unresponsive.
Cody had broken ribs and traces of methamphetamine in his system, according to the coroner’s report. The cause of death was “restraint asphyxia in the setting of methamphetamine intoxication.”
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No charges have been filed.
Sangamon County State’s Attorney Dan Wright requested a review by the Illinois State’s Attorneys Appellate Prosecutor’s Office.
Wright and Allmon said separately that the “homicide” classification and that didn't imply guilt or the necessity of criminal changes.
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Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said officers were faced “with a nearly impossible situation” as Cody was apparently harming himself.
“Swift action was necessary and warranted, and it was done with the intent of stopping a harmful situation, not to cause harm," Campbell said. "Our officers used the methods and techniques that they learned through their training.”
Cody had been arrested for aggravated domestic battery and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, but had not been formally charged.
