Convicted state contractor says he was hospitalized after his middle finger became trapped in a cell door at the Oklahoma County jail.
OKLAHOMA CITY — Brent Swadley says he lost part of his middle finger after it became trapped in a cell door during an incident earlier this month at the Oklahoma County Detention Center.
According to recorded jail phone calls obtained by KFOR, Swadley said the injury occurred June 8 after breakfast trays were collected from inmates.
Swadley is currently being held at the Oklahoma County jail while awaiting sentencing in a public corruption case tied to state tourism contracts awarded to Swadley’s Foggy Bottom Kitchen restaurants.
In the recorded calls, Swadley said he was speaking with a detention officer when he accidentally startled him. He claimed the officer then pushed him toward his cell and shut the door, trapping his middle finger.
“I lost about probably about 20% of my middle finger,” Swadley said in one of the calls.
Swadley said he repeatedly sought help after his finger became stuck in the door and bleeding. According to his account, several minutes passed before the door was opened.
He said he was later transported to SSM Health St. Anthony Hospital, where doctors determined that part of the finger could not be saved.
The Oklahoma County Detention Center declined to discuss the incident or Swadley’s medical treatment, citing privacy restrictions, according to KFOR.
In a statement provided to the television station, attorney David Smith said Swadley’s family remains concerned about his safety while he is being held at the facility.
“His family continues to be concerned about his safety at the Oklahoma County Detention Center — a jail that has experienced numerous issues in the past, as documented in the media,” Smith said.
The injury is the latest development in the ongoing legal saga involving Swadley. As OK Politics Today previously reported, prosecutors earlier this month released recordings of jail phone calls in which Swadley discussed his political connections and encouraged associates to seek assistance from current and future Oklahoma officeholders. Swadley’s attorneys have challenged the release of some jail communications and argued prosecutors improperly obtained privileged attorney-client discussions.
KFOR also reported that some of the recordings concerning the finger injury included conversations between Swadley and members of his legal team. Jail officials told the station inmate calls are generally recorded and become public records unless procedures are followed to exempt privileged communications.
The detention center has not publicly confirmed Swadley’s account of how the injury occurred.
Source: KFOR
