An Army veteran prisoner who had his neck broken by staff was left crippled, in great agony, and confined to a cell for five days before his death, as seen in horrifying video.
A prison officer knocked Craig Ridley, 62, to the ground, leaving him immobile on his bunk. Prior to being brought to the hospital, prison authorities ignored his cries for aid a total of 170 times as they passed by his cell.
He died slowly and painfully, ultimately succumbing to his wounds on October 12, 2017, despite Florida prison guards’ insistence for weeks that he was fabricating his illnesses.
On September 8, Ridley said something “disrespectful” to Sgt. John Nettles, who then hit the prisoner in the face. Capt. William Jerrels then smashed Ridley to the ground.
Ridley yelled at the guards to stop assaulting him as he was tackled and fell face first on the ground. As he lay on the ground in a fetal posture, he informed them he was unable to walk.
In the video, Jerrels is heard explaining that Ridley was “refusing” to walk, so they had to get him a wheelchair, which he almost fell out of. Ridley explains to the police that his neck is broken.
Ridley was seen begging with police in a video tape acquired by the Miami Herald, telling them his neck was broken, but they ignored him as he slumped in a wheelchair.
When Ridley said he couldn’t walk by himself, the guards, Sgt. John Nyitray and Officer Daniel Greene, informed him, “You’re bulls***ing…you’re just trying to win a lawsuit.”
He was put on the toilet inside the cell, where he lost his balance and fell to the ground after being set down on the floor. He was left stranded in a bloody pool.
His cellmate Moise Cherette knocked on the door and yelled for assistance, but at first it was ineffective. Ridley was then brought to visit Dr. Jean Dure, who declared him to be in good health. Ridley was placed back in a cell, but this time by himself.
The fractured neck of Ridley, according to another prisoner, was allegedly twisted back and forth in front of security personnel and a nurse at the prison’s urgent care facility.
The video shows that after five days, other detainees implored officials to assist Ridley, but they just passed by his cell and did nothing.
Ridley was not seen leaving his bunk or touching any of his meal trays, according to a total of 11 detainees.
Ridley wasn’t sent to a Jacksonville hospital until a corrections officer recognized something was wrong on September 12, 2017. A month after his death, he was intubated and unable to speak.
Jatoon Moss, the prisoner’s daughter, together with guards and medical personnel filed a civil rights case against Secretary of the Department of Corrections Ricky Dixon (shown) over the passing of her father.
Video captures Ridley, who is in a wheelchair due to his injuries, almost falling over. Staff continued to leave him alone in a cell and provided no assistance for days.
The Miami Herald quoted Ridley’s sister Diane Ridley Gatewood as saying: “This was a cruel death brought on by an appalling lack of medical care.”
That was torturous.
She was first informed that her brother had passed away from cancer while incarcerated, but she didn’t believe it and began looking into public documents on her own.
Jatoon Moss, the prisoner’s daughter, along with prison guards and medical personnel sued the Department of Corrections’ secretary, Ricky Dixon, for civil rights violations related to her father’s death.
Despite a Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigation, no one was prosecuted in relation to his death because, according to the prison officers, they were merely following medical advice.
When Ridley wasn’t eating, one officer passed his cell 16 times over the course of two days without asking for assistance. Two other officers had letters “reprimanding” them for using improper language toward Ridley posted in their files. One officer was suspended for 8.5 hours as a result.
The investigation determined that the prisoner’s death was caused by multiple instances of mistreatment and neglect.
Officers maintained their suspicion that Ridley was fabricating his illnesses, so they fabricated records showing that he had eaten throughout the five days that he was comatose in his cell.
The FDLE also thinks the officers faked his signature on paperwork that he was unable to sign due to his severe wounds.
His death was also determined to be a murder by a medical examiner, who gave “blunt impact” and severe spinal cord damage as the causes of death.
He also suffered from “complications of quadriplegia,” which are the paralysis of all four limbs.
Jean Dure, the medical professional who performed an X-Ray and CT scan on Ridley and found no problems. He claimed to have passed a neurological examination, but the FDLE was unable to locate any paperwork attesting to the fact.
At Lake Butler’s Reception and Medical Center, which serves as the primary hospital for Florida’s prison system, Ridley, a native of Missouri, worked in the kitchen.
He received a 20-year prison term in 2008 for violent assault and criminal mischief, despite his reputation as a calm prisoner who enjoyed playing chess and jogging. In 2025, he would have been able to be released.
In an interview with FDLE, a correctional officer referred to Ridley as a “good inmate,” and a peer gave him the moniker “the president” for his composed demeanor.
However, he had a history of minor offenses and was known to confront guards when he believed he was being handled unjustly.
Before going to jail, Ridley was an electrical engineer who had served in the US Army.
His civil rights were violated, according to David Rembert, an associate professor of criminal justice at Prairie View A&M University.
This was purposeful disregard for medical requirements. If you pass by someone’s cell every day and they aren’t moving, something is obviously wrong.
He referred to the situation as “a heck of a cover up.”
The US Supreme Court rules that the deliberate disregard for prisoners’ medical needs constitutes a violation of the Eighth Amendment.
Michelle Glady, a spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, acknowledged that the state had let Ridley down in response to the report.
The Miami Herald quoted her as saying, “The circumstances of this case are isolated, and in no way represent what our policies specify and anticipate.
We have carefully examined this case, are aware of the numerous mistakes made, and have drawn lessons from it.