Texas prison guard charged in connection with death of inmate who allegedly spit on him

The guard tower of the Ellis Unit of Texas Department of Criminal Justice is photographed on Tuesday, May 29, 2018, in Huntsville. ( Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle ) The guard tower of the Ellis Unit of Texas Department of Criminal Justice is photographed on Tuesday, May 29, 2018, in Huntsville. ( Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle ) Photo: Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle Photo: Yi-Chin Lee / Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Texas prison guard charged in connection with death of inmate who allegedly spit on him 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A Texas prison guard has been arrested after the death of an inmate who allegedly spit on him at a Huntsville prison, officials said Tuesday.

Former corrections officer D'Andre Glasper was charged this month with one count of aggravated assault after a prisoner who was just two months from release died when he hit his head during a use-of-force incident in the Estelle Unit shower. The 22-year-old guard - who has since resigned - was booked into the Walker County Jail and later let out on $50,000 bond.

"One of the core values of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is integrity and any violation of the public trust will not be tolerated," agency Executive Director Bryan Collier said in a statement.

The death - and unusual decision to charge an officer in connection with it - comes amid a long-term uptick in major use-of-force incidents in Texas prisons, which have increased by 50 percent over the past decade even as the prison population has gone down.

Two weeks before he died, prisoner Gary Lesley Ryan, a 58-year-old from Dallas County, allegedly spit on the officer just before 8 a.m. during the Aug. 30 morning count. The spittle hit Glasper's upper body, and he reported the incident to his supervisor and then went for medical attention before returning to his post, Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials said.

To keep the situation from escalating, Glasper was ordered to stay away from the inmate.

But apparently Glasper ignored that order, as later that morning, he escorted Ryan to the shower. En route, Glasper told supervisors afterward, the inmate allegedly pulled away from him, got aggressive and made derogatory remarks - actions that Glasper thought merited the use of force.

As Glasper took Ryan down, the inmate hit his head hard enough that he fell unconscious. When medical staff arrived, he was bleeding out onto the floor. He was flown to Memorial Hermann Hospital in critical condition.

There, he underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain, but doctors weren't able to save him and he died Sept. 12.

At the time of his death, he was at least four years in to a five-year sentence for harassment of a public servant. It's not clear if he had any prior prison discipline history, and officials weren't sure whether he was in administrative segregation or why he required an escort to the shower.

Previously, he served a 12-year prison sentence starting in 1991 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Just over a decade later, he got another two years for the same charge. His most recent arrest came in 2013, and he was scheduled to get out on Nov. 23.

Glasper - who'd been with the agency since 2016 - resigned on Sept. 7, amid a pending disciplinary case for failure to obey an order from a proper authority, excessive force, and failing to follow proper escorting procedures. He had no prior disciplinary history or inmate grievances filed against him, the agency said in a statement.

The officer was arrested on Sept. 10, two days before Ryan's death. At the time, aggravated assault was the highest charge possible. But, because he was an officer, that charge was upgraded to a first-degree felony, according to Jack Choate, executive director of the Special Prosecution Unit that handles Texas prison criminal cases.

The upgraded charge carries the same sentencing range as murder - 5 to 99 years or life in prison.

"He is currently charged with the highest level felony that he can be charged with," Choate said. Still, it's possible prosecutors could later charge Glasper with murder, once the inmate's autopsy report is complete and more information becomes available.

It's not clear whether Glasper has an attorney, and the accused former officer could not be located for comment.

Prison officials couldn't immediately specify when the last time an inmate death actually led to a guard's arrest - but spokesman Jeremy Desel said it's not often.

"Any incident like this is exceedingly rare," he said. Choate said he couldn't remember any in the past decade.

But even if officer arrests are rare after fatal force incidents, major uses of force are ticking up in Texas prisons. In 2008, there was 6,231 major uses of force, according to department data. By 2013, that number crept up to 7,151, and by last year it was up to 9,328.

It's not immediately clear why, though state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, suggested that understaffing and a "tougher" prison population filled with fewer low-level offenders could be contributing factors.

"Use of force should be used only when necessary to protect staff and inmates," he said. In the latest case, he pointed out, the officer has been charged and "now we have to let the criminal justice system work."