MARION COUNTY, IN - An attack in a cell at the Marion County Jail that left a disabled inmate critically injured was an unfortunate aberration, officials said Wednesday.

The attack occurred Tuesday in a mental health block on the fourth floor of the jail that housed 12 of a maximum 15 occupants.

Capt. Royce Cole, the security commander for the jail, said the officers did everything they were supposed to do, but the attack was abnormally severe.

"I don't think in any way, shape or form this could have been prevented," Cole said. "We have inmates fighting on a daily basis. Tempers flare. It's just not usually this serious."

Jail officials said they responded to an emergency call from an inmate at 3:50 p.m. Tuesday and found James Barr, 54, gasping for air on the cell floor. He had a bloodied nose and mouth, and his wheelchair was on its side next to him.

James Caldwell, 28, admitted striking Barr after warning him to stay away, officers said.
Caldwell told police he attacked Barr with his hands after Barr, who has one leg, rolled over Caldwell's foot with his wheelchair. Barr was taken to Wishard Memorial Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition Wednesday, said Capt. Phil Burton of the Marion County Sheriff's Department.

Jail officials said officers made normal rounds in the mental health block every half-hour and responded to the call within a minute. Officials monitor inmates' aggressiveness each day, Cole said, adding that nothing suggested Caldwell was overly hostile Tuesday.

Inmates also are rated by their criminal history, Cole said. Caldwell and Barr were cleared to share a cell. Caldwell was being held on charges of attempted murder, while Barr was being held on battery and criminal trespass charges.

Police records listed Barr as homeless, and no record of family members was available. Caldwell was moved to an isolated cell after the attack , Burton said. The case had not been forwarded to the prosecutor's office by Wednesday afternoon.

The attack comes about three years after an inmate died in a different section of the jail. Kenneth Carpenter died July 1, 2003, after he was beaten by another inmate six days earlier. Burton said that while the attack on Barr was unfortunate, it might not have been avoidable.

"It's not necessarily a wake-up call," Burton said. "We just don't have the luxury of having officers to just sit and look at inmates 24 hours, seven days a week."