Retrial underway for ex
MANSFIELD, Ohio (AP) — Jury selection has started in the retrial of a former corrections officer charged in the death of an inmate at a county jail in northern Ohio.
Mark Cooper faces a reckless homicide charge and two counts of involuntary manslaughter. The charges stem from Cooper’s alleged role in the September 2019 death of Alexander Rios, 28, at the Richland County jail. Cooper’s first trial last November ended in a mistrial when jurors could not reach a verdict.
Jury selection started Monday and was expected to continue Tuesday. The Ohio attorney general’s office is now prosecuting the case, after the first trial was handled by the Medina County prosecutor’s office.
Rios fell unconscious during a struggle with guards and after being shocked with a stun gun in September 2019, authorities have said. He died at a hospital eight days after the confrontation, which was captured on video shot by jail staffers.