Inmate assaults four detention officers at Oklahoma County Jail, authorities say

An inmate at the Oklahoma County Jail is facing new charges after allegedly assaulting four detention officers during a search for contraband last week.

“He's got a history of assaulting people,” said Alan Smith, the chief of intelligence and investigations at the Oklahoma County Detention Center.

Marciese McCoy, 36, was already behind bars after being recently convicted on an assault and battery charge last year. Smith says his aggressive behaviors have continued while incarcerated.

“Back in January, he assaulted another inmate, and he received jail time for that also,” Smith said.

Last week, he turned his aggression onto four detention officers. What was intended to be a routine procedure quickly escalated when McCoy started making verbal threats. The situation worsened when McCoy began grabbing officers through the food port of his cell door.

“When the officers made contact with him at his cell, he fought several of them,” Smith said. “He charged them as soon as the cell door opened, and it was kind of a brawl.” 

McCoy reportedly assaulted four officers before they were able to restrain him. During the search, officers discovered a broken tablet that McCoy had used to make into makeshift weapons.

“He had torn that tablet up and made little weapons out of the plastic,” he said.

During a strip search, court documents show McCoy also had two toothbrushes sharpened into points.

“The whole jail is concrete, so it's a matter of shaving it down or shaving it down on the metal bunk to sharpen it slowly,” Smith said. “He definitely had been working on it.”

Despite the violence, Smith said the officers sustained only minor injuries.

"They did what they could to de-escalate, but sometimes, there's no de-escalating, and it’s just a reality you have to deal with," he said.

McCoy is now facing additional charges, including four counts of assault and battery on a detention officer. Next week, the National Institute of Corrections will conduct crisis intervention training (CIT) next week to help staff develop better techniques for handling escalating situations.