CLACKAMAS COUNTY, Ore. — Newly released video shows a violent confrontation between an inmate and a Clackamas County sheriff's sergeant, ending with the sergeant slamming the inmate's face into the ground. The incident is now the focus of a lawsuit against Clackamas County.
The video, captured in February 2023, shows what happened when deputies received Travis Barrett Craig into the booking area of the Clackamas County Jail. Deputies had arrested Craig after a drunken fight at the Milwaukie Inn Hotel. Craig was injured during the incident, then was treated and released from a local hospital before going to jail.
The video shows Craig refusing commands, lying on the ground, and refusing to get up. That led deputies to drag him across the floor. Once up, cameras captured Craig spitting in the face of Clackamas County Sheriff's Sgt. James Williams.
Williams responded by repeatedly slamming Craig's head into a metal shelf, then slamming him onto the ground head-first, fracturing Craig's eye socket. In the use of force report he penned, Sgt. Williams wrote, "I was irate, I was yelling orders at Craig to stop fighting and never spit in my face."
Williams also wrote that Craig spat a large amount of saliva and blood into his face, noting Craig has Hepatitis C, which is transmittable through bodily fluids. In his report, Williams pointed to past incidents during which Craig allegedly spat into other deputies' faces, causing them to go to the hospital.
Records also show that on the night of the incident in question, before arriving to the jail, Craig spat in the face of deputies who responded to the Milwaukie Inn Hotel. For that, Craig was charged with aggravated harassment. He pleaded guilty and is currently serving a 20-month prison sentence.
As for what happened in the Clackamas County Jail booking area, a memo from the Clackamas County District Attorney's office said Sgt. Williams' use of force was reviewed and found to be within the county's use of force policies. The DA's office declined to prosecute Williams.
Craig is now suing Clackamas County and jail deputies, including Williams, for excessive force. The suit accuses the sheriff's office of sweeping their actions under the rug by not following up on the case.
The lawsuit also points a finger at the sheriff's office for not submitting jail videos showing the use of force when the case was originally submitted for review. The DA’s office said this omission shouldn't have happened, and it has asked the jail to fix the issue.
Craig and his attorney declined KGW’s request for comment, as did Clackamas County.