Ellis County detention officer beaten to death by inmate
Detention officer beaten to death by inmate
According to the arrest affidavit, the inmate punched the officer, knocking him to the ground, and then began choking him and punching and kicking his head.
WAXAHACHIE, Texas - An Ellis County detention officer was killed after being attacked by an inmate.
What We Know
28-year-old Officer Isaiah Bias was killed while putting an inmate in his cell Monday afternoon.
Ellis County Sheriff Brad Norman called the attack "pure evil," but he said he wouldn't go into detail about how the detention officer was killed.
"Most of the time, law enforcement officers and detention officers deal with good folks having a bad day. Occasionally, we deal with bad folks," he said. "I can honestly say that my staff over the last day has dealt with pure evil."
Ellis County jailer killed by inmate | FULL NEWS CONFERENCE
A detention officer at the Ellis County jail died on Monday after being physically assaulted by an inmate in a holding cell. Sheriff Brad Norman called Officer Isaiah Bias an "outstanding person" who has been involved with the sheriff's department since he was 14 years old.
Investigators say 45-year-old Arron Thompson was booked into jail last month on three counts of assault on a public servant and evading arrest. He was in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.
Sheriff Norman says the incident happened when Bias was putting Thompson back in his cell.
"He was physically assaulted by an inmate in a cell, holding facility while the officer was doing his job," the sheriff said.
An arrest warrant affidavit for Thompson says that he punched Officer Bias, knocking him to the ground. Thompson then allegedly began choking Bias and hitting him in the head with his fist, knee and foot.
The affidavit says Thompson then went to a table and sat down, leaving Bias in a "large pool of blood."
Thompson is now charged with capital murder. It’s up to the district attorney if this will be tried as a death penalty case. He was arraigned and issued a bond of $2 million.
"It was a heinous, horrific, purposeful murder that was not needed," the sheriff said. "If I have anything to say about it, that is exactly what will happen (death penalty case). I believe they will ask my opinion and the Ranger that works this case. The decision is on the DA’s office."
What’s Next: The Texas Rangers are leading the murder investigation. On Monday, they said they had no further details to release at this time.
Sheriff Norman said the jail staff is struggling with the death of Officer Bias. He brought in counseling services to help his staff cope with the loss.
Who Was Officer Isaiah Bias?
Sheriff Norman said he’s known Officer Bias since he was about 14 years old. He met him when he was a teen in the Explorer program.
"He wanted to be in law enforcement. He came into work for the jail," Norman said. "You can work in the jail when you are 18. You can’t be a peace officer until you’re 21."
Bias left the sheriff’s office in 2016 to get a degree from Navarro College. He came back and was promoted to corporal in detention services in 2022.
As the oldest sibling in his family, Bias had just become an uncle a week earlier.
"Very family-oriented person. His sister’s baby was a week old, and he was able to see the baby the day it was born," the sheriff said. "He loved what he did. The people around him loved him. Law enforcement was a career path he loved."