Thurston County Jail inmate punches corrections deputy through cuff port

A Thurston County Jail inmate assaulted a corrections deputy during breakfast service in the early morning of February 2.

According to the police report, the incident occurred around 5:30 a.m. when one of the corrections deputies was in one of the cell areas retrieving the breakfast trays from each of the cells.

As the deputy appeared to retrieve the breakfast tray, an inmate, identified as Richard Yi, unexpectedly punched him through the cuff port.

“As he opened the cuff port, Yi stuck his arm out and with a closed fist made contact with his lower stomach,” TCSO stated in the police report. The corrections deputy told the reporting officer “said he felt the punch, but was not injured.”

Other corrections deputies responded and arrived at the scene.

Upon review, the corrections lieutenant provided officers with two reports: one from the deputy the inmate assaulted and another corrections deputy who witnessed the assault.

Both reports corroborated the event, indicating that the suspect had indeed struck the corrections deputy through the cuff port.

The deputy's report detailed the encounter, stating that as he approached the inmate's unit, the inmate swiftly extended his arm through the cuff port, delivering a closed-fist blow to the deputy's lower stomach.

Surveillance footage captured the assault, further validating the sequence of events described in the reports.

“I observed Yi lying on a mattress and then approach the door and stand there. At one point, Yi squatted down and quickly threw a punch [through] the cuff port,” the responding deputy stated based on what he saw on the surveillance footage.

The responding deputy then proceeded to Yi's unit to get his statement.

However, the deputy reported that the inmate was not cooperative, stating “Yi looked at me, put his hand in front of his throat (sideways) and motioned and made a loud buzzer sound with his mouth. He then walked away from the door.”

In light of the assault, the inmate was booked for custodial assault.