INDIANAPOLIS — Two Marion County Sheriff's deputies were fired last week for their "job performance" on the day that Deputy John Durm was killed by an inmate he was transporting.
The sheriff's department tells WRTV the deputies were fired the week of Aug. 20, but their names and additional information about the investigation into their firing are not being released at this time.
Earlier this month, the Marion County Sheriff's Office told WRTV they have been reviewing their policies as part of the investigation into Durm's death.
"In the three weeks since the investigation launched, dozens of individuals have been interviewed," the sheriff's office said at the time. "Many hours of camera footage have been reviewed for an incident that lasted approximately ten minutes."
Durm was returning inmate Orlando Mitchell to the Adult Detention Center on July 10 after a medical visit when the inmate attacked him in a secure garage area, prosecutors say. Mitchell was handcuffed and secured with a body chain restraint at the time.
Following Durm's death, many questions regarding the policies and procedures for transporting violent criminals starting to emerge. That's when the department announced it had been conducing a "comprehensive and impartial investigation so that we may not only determine the facts of this case, but also ensure the safety of all MCSO employees and prevent the recurrence of such a tragedy."
The office did not say whether it believed Durm followed the department's policies when he was transporting the murder suspect who allegedly attacked and killed him, although documents show two jail deputies would have been required for the transport in most instances.
According to a probable cause affidavit, video shows Durm walk around a transport van to let Mitchell out. As Mitchell is getting out of the van he steps behind the deputy and raises his hands over Durm's head and begins choking him with the chain.
They both fell to the ground and Mitchell continues choking "until Durm quits moving," according to the documents.
Mitchell took the deputy's keys, removed his handcuffs and took off in the van, according to the reports. He crashed not far from the detention center in the 3000 block of Prospect Street and was taken into custody.
Mitchell, who was already facing a charge of murder in the death of his ex-girlfriend Krystal Walton in September 2022, will now face the death penalty.
