SCSO: Inmate charged after attack on nurse

UPDATE: The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office says Cordarius Fisher, 32, has been charged with simple assault in this incident.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An inmate physically assaulted a nurse over the weekend at 201 Poplar, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.

The Mid-South nurse and mother of two is now speaking out saying she is still traumatized after the assault. She wants to share her story hoping it can prevent another nurse from experiencing the same fate.

“I could’ve lost my life and you know I have family. I have kids,” the nurse said. “My lip was torn on the inside and my face was swollen.”

On April 27, the nurse says she was on the fourth floor of the jail distributing medication to the detainees when one of them stood out to her and for the wrong reasons.

“I approached pod D and that’s when the inmate he was standing out, and he made gestures like he was going to perform sexual acts on himself,” she said.

She says he quickly became hostile with her.

“I said could you please move, could you please move? I put my hand up and that’s when he got his fist and hit me in the face,” she said.

The nurse says she desperately tried to defend herself but the blows to her head continued. She says a female officer eventually intervened.

“I don’t remember anybody else coming. So, I panicked and I ran down two flights of stairs,” the nurse said.

A spokesman for the sheriff’s office says the inmate was immediately detained.

We will not name him since he has not been charged in this incident. However, WREG can confirm the inmate was in jail for two aggravated burglary charges, an aggravated assault charge, and theft.

According to the nurse, the inmate was standing in the hallway, outside the pod, without restraints or a guard nearby.

“That’s negligence on the security part because he was supposed to be in handcuffs,” the nurse said.

The Sheriff’s office did not provide any details as to why or how the inmate was able to roam freely through the jail.

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Just last week Sheriff Floyd Bonner explained to WREG that some inmates have been jamming the outdated doors to prevent them from fully closing.

“But actually, the door is able to slide open,” Sheriff Bonner said.”So it leads to fights, it leads to all kinds of things because these detainees can get out when they want to instead of when we allow them to.”

A spokesman says they will provide more details after detectives complete their investigation.

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