AUBURN — Androscoggin County officials released a video Friday that shows a former supervisor at the jail putting another corrections officer in a choke hold while on duty in August.

The tape shows Eric Hesketh, the officer who was choked, laying his head on his desk several times afterward. He reported that he felt nauseous and disoriented, and said the effects of the choking stayed with him for about half an hour.

The incident was cited, in part, for the recent firing of Cpl. Patrick Gorham by county commissioners. Gorham also was involved in another jail incident in which a corrections worker was duct-taped to his office chair at the jail, wheeled into an elevator and sent to a different floor.

Another supervisor, Sgt. Kevin Harmon, resigned after that September incident came to light. And corrections officer Robert Murphy, who was involved in the duct-taping prank, was suspended without pay and put on probation.

The Sun Journal filed a Freedom of Access Act request for video of both jail incidents, which were captured on closed-circuit security cameras. The videos were shown to the public during a commissioners’ meeting earlier this month.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.