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Erie County Sheriff reacts to former sergeant sentenced for choking inmate

Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth said Adam Bess' actions are an example of behavior he will never tolerate in his department.

TOLEDO, Ohio — A former Erie County corrections officer was sentenced to one year in federal prison Thursday after he pleaded guilty to depriving an inmate of their constitutional rights by using excessive force when he strangled a female inmate two years ago.

Erie County Sheriff Paul Sigsworth said Adam Bess' actions are an example of behavior he will never tolerate in his department.

"We have an obligation to the public to assure the public that we're not engaged in an activity like this, and if one of us does, there will be consequences for it," Sigsworth said.

The incident was caught on Erie County Jail cameras on Oct. 23, 2021. The woman who later filed the complaint against Bess, 35, was being booked into jail on a warrant and started becoming unruly.

"There was a decision to put her in a restraint chair, which could have very easily been accomplished," Sigsworth said. "Then, Bess choked her. Put his hands on her and choked her."

Bess choked her multiple times, totaling over one-and-a-half minutes.

Four officers, including Bess, were present at the time but not one reported the incident. When the victim was released the next day, she took action into her own hands.

"She called me, I believe, that night, explaining to me that she had 'been choked in the jail, and had marks on her neck,'" Sigsworth said.

When Sigsworth saw photos of the large bruises on the victim, he said it was cause for immediate action.

"A few days after [contacting the district attorney], I contacted the FBI because this happened under the color of law and it seemed like it could be a federal civil rights case," he said.

Bess can no longer work in law enforcement due to his federal felony conviction, according to the United States Attorney's Office Northern District of Ohio.

Two of the other three officers present during the incident were new and asked Bess if they should report the incident, but he told them no. The third officer present was dismissed from service.

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