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2 RICO correctional officers fired after inmate altercation

The two officers were charged with battery for their roles in a physical altercation with an inmate.

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — Editor's Note: The video shown above is from Feb. 19.

Update (Feb. 24): Two correctional officers at Rock Island County Jail were fired on Wednesday for an incident with an inmate, according to a press release from the sheriff's office.

Cameron Gerischer and Jacob Ward were terminated a few days after they were each charged with one count of aggravated battery.

Rock Island County Sheriff's Office says an investigation was completed on Feb. 18.

Original (Feb. 19): A pair of Rock Island County Jail correctional officers are facing charges after an altercation that left an inmate injured last month.

On Friday, February 18, State's Attorney of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Dora Villarreal announced that felony charges had been filed against two officers involved in an altercation with an inmate on January 30.

According to the State's Attorney's Office, an internal investigation into the incident began after it was reported by Sheriff's Department supervisors soon after it happened, and the officers were placed on administrative leave.

Simultaneously, RICO Sheriff Gerry Bustos requested a separate, independent criminal investigation be launched with the assistance of the State's Attorney's Office and the Rock Island Police Department.

RIPD detectives were able to gather all relevant evidence and refer the case to the State's Attorney's Office.

The office determined that charges were warranted after reviewing the case, saying that both officers "knowingly, and without any legal justification" made physical contact with the inmate, causing them bodily harm; consisting of punches and other strikes that left them with bruises and abrasions. 

Both officers and the inmate remain unidentified, and further information about the incident is not available.

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