IONIA COUNTY, Mich. — Corrections officers are outraged that an officer is charged with felonious assault after a violent confrontation with an inmate inside a state prison.
Tameca Brown, 37, is accused of hitting inmate Daniel Ervin, 18, with her handcuffs during the Feb. 18 incident in the segregation unit at Bellamy Correctional Facility in Ionia County. Brown was cleared in an internal investigation, and has the support of her superiors. The Ionia County prosecutor charged her with a four-year felony after a state police investigation that included review of a prison video.
“If she’s convicted, this would virtually tell every officer ... now, you can’t even defend yourself,” said Andy Potter, vice president of Michigan Corrections Organization. “The outcome is going to have a lasting effect on how they do their jobs. ... It’s nothing short of a travesty.”
A source said Ervin was handcuffed near a hearing room when Ervin, escorted by another officer, apparently lunged at the nearby Brown.
Potter said Brown, with handcuffs in her hand, simply reacted to a threat, and “took some really hard shots” from the inmate.
Prison officials, including the warden, Kenneth McKee, and the deputy director, were among those who reviewed the surveillance and determined Brown responded appropriately, Potter said.
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