GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — The wife of a Guilford County detention officer attacked by an inmate in July 2021 has released surveillance video of the incident in the hopes of showing the public what happened and to spark change.
Video obtained by WFMY News 2 shows inmate 22-year-old Elijah Evans attacking 72-year-old Guilford County Detention Officer Sheldon Kaminsky back in July 2021. Evans appears to argue with Kaminsky before walking around the desk and beating him. The attack happened in a matter of seconds. Evans punches the officer several times before he falls to the ground.
About 20 seconds after the attack, Evans is handcuffed by another officer.
Just about a minute after the attack, a team of more officials rushes in to detain Evans and help Kaminsky.
Kaminsky's wife Candy Kaminsky petitioned the court to have the video released.
"I want the public to see and understand what's going on," said Candy Kaminsky. "So many people said to me, 'how did the inmate make it to him in the first place?' Well, it was one officer locked in a pod with a dozen or more inmates on their state-mandated free time and that's what goes on in the jail all the time."
Candy Kaminsky said short staffing, caused by a variety of issues, led to a bad situation for her husband.
"I really believe that if there had been two officers in that pod at the time then there's a good chance that (Elijah Evans) would've been deterred from doing what he did," Kaminsky said. "They're so short-staffed and people are quitting in droves because morale is bad, working conditions are not good, the pay is not enough to keep them there. It's only going to get worse."
Sheldon Kaminsky spent a month and a half in the hospital after the attack before being released. His wife said he had to be on a ventilator and suffered several broken bones in his face. She told News 2 Friday that he is still recovering.
"There's been months where we've had 16 appointments in one month. So it's a lot of work recovering," Kaminsky said.
Kaminsky has been in law enforcement for 30 years.
"People forget when people go to prison that there are people actually working in there with them all day long, with this type of individual. It's a dangerous situation," Candy Kaminsky said. "Our officers need better protection and better support."
22-year-old Elijah Evans pleaded guilty to assaulting Sheldon Kaminsky in July 2021. Evans was sentenced to 10.5 to 15 years in prison but not all of it was for the attack.
"If you look specifically for the charge for Sheldon, (Elijah Evans) got the maximum for that charge which was six to nine years. That's not very much considering that this will be with Sheldon for the rest of his life," said Kaminsky.
Kaminsky said sentencing laws should be changed.
"What is (an inmate's) incentive for them to not assault an officer? They're already in jail, what's the extra punishment? The punishment should be, whatever the punishment is for that is served after their other sentence, not concurrent," Kaminsky said.