Forsyth Co. inmate charged in assault of two detention officers

By Maria DeBone

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    WINSTON-SALEM, North Carolina (WXII) — An inmate accused of assaulting two detention officers has been charged, according to the Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office said two detention officers were assaulted last week in the Forsyth County Detention Center.

Law enforcement officials held a news conference Wednesday afternoon to address allegations after the inmate’s mother took to Facebook claiming her son, Matthew West was beaten by one of the detention officers.

On Tuesday, Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough responded publicly to West’s mother, Amy Litaker, calling her claims false. He also invited her to come and watch the video of the assault.

Kimbrough said during the news conference that she watched it but didn’t recognize her son or see the assault.

He said the “last thing he wants to do is go back and forth with a resident about their loved one.”

He made the decision to contact the District Attorney for Forsyth County, Jim O’Neil following the meeting with Litaker. Kimbrough said O’Neil saw the video and agreed with his assessment to charge West with felony assault.

West has been charged with two felony counts of assault on a detention employee inflicting serious injury and one count of possession of a weapon by a prisoner. He remains in Forsyth County Law Enforcement Detention Center and has a court date scheduled for Aug. 18 regarding the assaults.

“In Forsyth County, if you attack, assault, put your hands on a law enforcement officer, I promise, I will bring the resources of my office down on top of you,” O’Neil said.

WXII 12 spoke with Litaker earlier Wednesday afternoon about the video she watched.

“I just want to clarify it to clear my son’s name. Watch the video. And I will say, ‘This right here.’ Sheriff Kimbrough, release that video so the public can see, what I saw. They will not see him strike a woman. They will see a 32-second scuffle between him and another officer to get out of the way of them, like hovering around him,” Litaker said.

WXII 12 put in a request to the sheriff’s office to watch the video but was denied because they said it’s part of an active investigation. They said Litaker was allowed to watch it because it concerned her son and her son’s safety.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office said the two officers assaulted experienced serious injuries. The sheriff’s office said a 61-year-old, female officer suffered a concussion and fractured orbital bone. The male officer they said, suffered a brain bleed, concussion, dislocated shoulder, and torn calf muscle.

The sheriff’s office said West was taken to the hospital for further evaluation. With the use of force, it’s standard procedure for them to send the resident to the hospital to be evaluated for injuries.

West is in the Forsyth County Detention Center charged with the murder of Victor Hardy in January 2022 in Winston-Salem. West is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

The Forsyth County Sheriff’s Office made changes to its restraint policies following the 2019 death of John Neville who suffered a medical emergency in a cell at the Forsyth County Detention Center and later died.

Detention officers restrained him after he fell to the floor during a medical emergency. An autopsy revealed Neville died from a brain injury due to cardio-pulmonary arrest due to positional and compressional asphyxia during prone restraint.

Nurse, Michelle Heughins and five detention officers were initially charged. However, Heughins was the only one indicted for involuntary manslaughter. In May, Neville’s family agreed to a $3 million settlement of their wrongful death lawsuit.

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