Cooper trial: Jurors hear closing arguments, begin deliberations

A Richland County Jail inmate died because of the actions of former corrections officer Mark Cooper, an assistant prosecutor said Tuesday in his closing argument.

Scott Salisbury works for the Medina County Prosecutor's Office, which is the special prosecutor in the case.

"When a 250-pound man steps on the back of a prone man on a concrete floor, that will probably cause serious physical harm," Salisbury said. "This wasn't accidental."

Defense attorney James Mayer III said in his closing argument that Cooper and his fellow corrections officers were following jail regulations.

Salisbury offered a brief closing argument before Mayer delivered his closing. Because the state has the burden of proof, Salisbury got to add a rebuttal argument.

The 10-man, two-woman jury deliberated for two hours Tuesday afternoon before adjourning for the day.

Cooper, 56, is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter, one a first-degree felony, the other a third-degree felony; and reckless homicide, a third-degree felony.

His charges are in connection with the death of Alexander Rios, 28, after the inmate was subdued by several corrections officers on Sept. 19, 2019. Rios was in the county jail on a warrant.

Rios was taken to OhioHealth Mansfield Hospital, but he never regained consciousness. His family took him off life support eight days later.

The official cause of death was excited delirium, which is no longer recognized by many medical organizations.

Jail video shows Rios struggling with corrections officers

In the jail video, several corrections officers can be seen holding Rios down, stepping and kneeling on his back while an officer punches his head into the concrete floor and they struggle to handcuff him.

"The video is the evidence. The video is the crime," Salisbury said. "Usually, we have to recreate the evidence from witness testimony."

Salisbury also discounted excited delirium, calling it a "now debunked junk science that doesn't exist."

"Alexander Rios did not die of delirium. You don't die from that," he said. "You die when you can't breathe."

Mayer's closing argument lasted nearly two hours.

"Mark Cooper was authorized to use force as part of his job," Mayer said. "Levels of force all turn on the degree of resistance of threat that the inmate poses."

Former Jail Lt. Jamaal O'Dell testified that the incident was the most difficult restraint he had been involved in during a 20-year career.

Mayer urged the jurors not to be swayed by sympathy. The state called Toni Mould, Rios' mother, as a witness.

"That was meant to tug at your heartstrings," Mayer said.

The defense attorney called the death "an absolute accident of an event that Alexander Rios precipitated" by resisting.

Defense attorney claims Rios was under influence of drugs

Throughout the trial, the defense has suggested drugs played a role in the incident. Amphetamines were found in a urine screen taken from Rios at the hospital, but no confirmatory test was performed.

Mayer pointed out that Rios' mother told hospital staff that he had relapsed on methamphetamines three or four weeks earlier and had struggled with addiction for 12 years.

The defense claims Rios was under the influence of drugs during the struggle, based on how he was acting.

"There is overwhelming circumstantial evidence," Mayer said.

Mayer then played the jail video of Rios being booked in. In the video, Rios pulls out what appears to be a plastic bag from his jail jumpsuit. Mayer said the corrections officer was not paying attention.

The defense attorney speculated the bag had drugs in it.

"You can bet dollars to doughnuts it's what ended up in his belly," Mayer said.

He criticized Rios for his actions during the confrontation.

"Every opportunity that he has to comply, he doubles down," Mayer said. "What are they supposed to do? They have a job to get him back under control."

He added that four other corrections officers were on Rios' torso.

"We have no idea how much weight Mark Cooper is applying," Mayer said.

Mayer reserved some of his strongest comments for the state's expert witness, Dr. Roger Mitchell.

He called him an "advocate physician with an agenda."

"If Dr. Mitchell has his way, it's all over as soon as Mark Cooper stands on his back," Mayer said. "The evidence doesn't support that."

Mayer called Mitchell a "polished, professional witness, and he's a hired gun, and that makes him dangerous."

In conclusion, Mayer went back to Rios.

"Alexander Rios can call it off at any point in time. He was the one in control," the defense attorney said. "Consider the evidence, not the tragic fallout."

Assistant prosecutor raises voice with emotion

In his rebuttal, Salisbury raised his voice a number of times, almost yelling to make his points.

"He (Mayer) has got to get you to believe excited delirium is a thing, and it's not," the assistant prosecutor said.

Salisbury also attacked Mayer's version of the book-in process and the supposed drug connection. He said the corrections officer was watching the computer scan and was being attentive.

"Talk about leaps and bounds and no evidence," Salisbury said. "I would love to hear the defense of Alexander Rios — if he was still alive — and we charged him with possession of methamphetamine."

He added suspected drug use is irrelevant to Rios' death.

"It doesn't matter," Salisbury said. "If Alexander Rios was high, did he deserve to die? What in the world does methamphetamine have to do with Alexander Rios dying? He didn't deserve to die."

Salisbury said the defense tried to make Rios look bad, noting he was in jail on a "felony" warrant.

"That's just to dirty up the victim, which they've been doing the whole case," the assistant prosecutor said. "To say it's a tough job and he died is ridiculous. They are responsible for keeping inmates safe."

Salisbury said while Cooper stood on Rios' back for 8 seconds, he exerted pressure on his back for almost 3 minutes.

"Alexander Rios' face is blue, and he (Cooper) is staring right at him," he said. "Reasonable? You think that's reasonable force?"

Salisbury played part of the jail video, the part where Cooper puts his feet on Rios. He told jurors to play close attention.

"You're going to hear the air leave his body with a ghastly grunt," Salisbury said. "Every person in jail deserves to be safe. When people die for no reason, we just can't let that go."

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

X (formerly Twitter): @MarkCau32059251

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Jury begins deliberating case of jailer linked to inmate's death