On Thursday, former corrections officer Christopher Cluley, 48, of Mount Pleasant, was sentenced to one year of probation for the in-custody jailhouse assault of an Isabella County inmate, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Cluley pled no contest to one count each of Aggravated Assault and Willful Neglect of Duty in April.
Per his plea agreement, Cluley had to sign an affidavit of decertification and an agreement to not recertify as a corrections officer, which means he will never again work as a corrections officer in Michigan. He will also be required to undergo an anger management assessment and classes.
“Thanks to the work of the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department, the Michigan State Police, and our Public Integrity Unit, Mr. Cluley has been permanently barred from working as a corrections officer in our state and can no longer harm inmates,” Nessel said. “My office remains committed to ensuring officers who violate their oaths to protect and serve are held accountable.”
In April 2020, Cluley was working in the Isabella County Jail as the administrator in charge when he interacted with an inmate during a cell transfer. The transfer was the result of a verbal disagreement between the inmate and another corrections officer.
Once the inmate was standing just outside of the cell, video evidence shows Cluley grabbed the inmate, spun him around and pushed him into the cell door before then pushing him into the wall next to the cell door. Then, after walking the inmate to the new cell, Cluley pushed the inmate to the ground, where the inmate cried out in pain upon crashing to the floor.
An x-ray later determined the inmate suffered a fractured left knee.
Cluley was placed on administrative leave while the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department conducted an internal investigation. The Isabella County Sheriff’s Department then contacted the Michigan State Police (MSP), and MSP’s Special Investigation Section completed their own investigation and referred the matter to the Department of Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit.
Per his plea agreement, Cluley had to sign an affidavit of decertification and an agreement to not recertify as a corrections officer, which means he will never again work as a corrections officer in Michigan. He will also be required to undergo an anger management assessment and classes.
“Thanks to the work of the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department, the Michigan State Police, and our Public Integrity Unit, Mr. Cluley has been permanently barred from working as a corrections officer in our state and can no longer harm inmates,” Nessel said. “My office remains committed to ensuring officers who violate their oaths to protect and serve are held accountable.”
In April 2020, Cluley was working in the Isabella County Jail as the administrator in charge when he interacted with an inmate during a cell transfer. The transfer was the result of a verbal disagreement between the inmate and another corrections officer.
Once the inmate was standing just outside of the cell, video evidence shows Cluley grabbed the inmate, spun him around and pushed him into the cell door before then pushing him into the wall next to the cell door. Then, after walking the inmate to the new cell, Cluley pushed the inmate to the ground, where the inmate cried out in pain upon crashing to the floor.
An x-ray later determined the inmate suffered a fractured left knee.
Cluley was placed on administrative leave while the Isabella County Sheriff’s Department conducted an internal investigation. The Isabella County Sheriff’s Department then contacted the Michigan State Police (MSP), and MSP’s Special Investigation Section completed their own investigation and referred the matter to the Department of Attorney General’s Public Integrity Unit.
