Russell Goldsmith, 63, of Westfield, was in Columbia County Court on Wednesday on charges of felony abuse of a resident of a penal facility and felony misconduct of public office for incidents that allegedly occurred Oct. 26.

Michael Thompson, 46, of Endeavor, also faces a felony charge of misconduct of a public office. Thompson has not made his initial court appearance.

The Sheriff’s Office received a request on Oct. 30 from the state Department of Corrections to investigate a use of force complaint at the state facility, a maximum security prison on Portage’s West Side.

“The investigation centered on the use of force against an inmate by a correctional officer,” said Sheriff Dennis Richards. “The inmate was injured and had to receive medical treatment after the incident.”

Additional charges and arrests could occur as a result of the investigation, which is ongoing, Richard said.

According to a criminal complaint:

The inmate spit on Goldsmith through the trap door of his cell on Oct. 25. Goldsmith reportedly then told the inmate he was a “dead man” and that he would “take his head off” for the incident.

After the inmate spit on a different corrections officer Oct. 26, Goldsmith returned to the inmate’s cell with that officer and the two of them placed sheets over the trap door of the inmate’s cell and two other cells. Goldsmith told the inmate that it was “going to be a rough night for you” as the officers left the area. The inmate said he then pulled the sheet into his cell and began to tear it apart, planning to mess with the lock on his trap door to prevent it from being able to close.

Goldsmith, bearing a shield, and Thompson later entered the inmate’s cell on the premise that the inmate had attempted to harm himself and was unresponsive. The inmate claims Goldsmith struck him with the shield upon entering the cell and the officers then started punching and kneeing him.

The inmate claims Goldsmith was the main actor in the assault, gouging the inmate’s eye, twisting his fingers and punching him. He also claimed Goldsmith at one point restrained his head and began choking him.

The inmate sustained injuries to his eyes, rib cage, back, thumb and ring finger.

Once the officers placed the inmate in a restraint chair, Goldsmith told others that the inmate had tried to hang himself. Detectives reported they could hear the inmate softly advising that Goldsmith’s claim was a lie when they reviewed camera footage. The inmate claimed he could not speak loudly because his voice was affected during the incident.

Goldsmith and Thompson then wrote incident reports stating that, prior to their entry into the cell, the inmate had wrapped the sheet around his neck and was unresponsive. They also claimed in their reports that once they had entered the inmate’s cell, the inmate took a boxer’s stance.

Thompson later admitted to detectives that his reporting of the inmate wrapping a sheet around his neck, being unresponsive and taking a boxer’s stance was false. Thompson also admitted that Goldsmith punched the inmate multiple times and that Thompson himself had delivered a knee strike to the defendant.

Goldsmith told investigators it was his idea to place sheets over the trap boxes and that when he noticed the inmate’s sheet was gone, he grabbed his shield and told Thompson they needed to do a trap check. At this point, Goldsmith said he observed the inmate slumped in the corner with the sheet around his neck. Goldsmith claimed the inmate engaged him once the officers entered his cell, and that Goldsmith used the shield to bring the inmate to the floor. Goldsmith, however, admitted to striking the inmate when he shouldn’t have done so.

Goldsmith’s next court appearance is set for Jan. 7.