A 28-year-old detention officer in Texas was attacked and killed by an inmate while returning him to his cell.
Ellis County Sheriff Brad Norman announced at a press conference Tuesday that Officer Isaiah Bias was killed Monday during an alleged attack on the jail.
“It is with great sadness that we stand here today and admit that we have lost one of our own. … Isaiah Bias, 28, has been with the Ellis County Sheriff's Office for more than six years. , was a dedicated detention officer,” Norman said. .
Norman called the alleged attack by Aaron Thompson, 45, “pure evil” but gave no details about how Bias was killed.
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Ellis County Detention Officer Isaiah Bias was attacked and killed by Aaron Thompson (left). (Ellis County Sheriff's Office)
“Most of the time law enforcement officers and detention officers deal with good people who are having a bad day. Sometimes they deal with bad people,” Norman said. “I can honestly say that my staff has dealt with pure evil this day.”
Norman added that Thompson will be charged with capital murder and that he will recommend the death penalty.
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Isaiah Bias, a detention officer at the Ellis County Jail in Texas, died Monday after being assaulted by an inmate. (Ellis County Sheriff's Office)
“It was a brutal, horrific, purposeful murder, senseless and unnecessary,” Norman said. “Whether or not we seek the death penalty in this case, the final decision will be made by the district attorney's office. If I have anything to say about it, that's exactly what it will be, but the final decision will be made by the district attorney's office. That decision rests with the district attorney's office.”
According to the arrest warrant affidavit Retrieved by KDFWThompson allegedly punched Bias, knocked him to the ground, then began strangling him and hitting him in the head with his fists, knees and feet.
Thompson then went to a table and sat down, leaving Bias in a “large pool of blood,” according to the affidavit.
Thompson was jailed last month on three counts of assault on a public servant and evading arrest, where he was kept in solitary confinement 23 hours a day, Norman said.
Norman said he met Bias as a teenager while participating in the prison's explorer program.
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Ellis County Sheriff Brad Norman said at a news conference that detention officer Isaiah Bias was attacked and killed by an inmate on Monday. (Ellis County Sheriff's Office)
“He wanted to go into law enforcement. He came to work in a prison,” Norman said. “You can work in a prison at the age of 18. You can't become a peace officer in Texas until you're 21,” Norman said.
Norman also described Bias as “a very family-oriented person” and said he had just become an uncle a week before he was killed.
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“His sister's baby was a week old and he was able to see her the day she was born,” Norman said. “He loved what he did. The people around him loved him. Law enforcement was a career path he loved.”
The Texas Rangers took over the murder investigation. Thompson was arraigned and bail was set at $2 million.
Stepheny Price is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business. Story tips and ideas can be sent to stepheny.price@fox.com.
