MCSO Detention Officer Gene Lee Dies After Inmate Daniel Davitt Attacks Him 'Aggressively'

A Maricopa County sheriff's detention officer (MSCO) in Arizona who suffered a severe head injury after he was attacked by an inmate early Tuesday, died Wednesday evening.

In a statement, the sheriff's office said, "Earlier tonight, Detention Officer (Gene) Lee, surrounded by his family, passed away. Under these tragic circumstances and out of respect for the Lee family, MCSO will not be making any further statements tonight. Please keep the entire Lee family, friends and his MCSO colleagues in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time."

Earlier in the day, Sheriff Paul Penzone held a news conference during which he said the officer was battling for his life. He said Lee’s head hit the cement floor at the Lower Buckeye Jail after the inmate, identified as Daniel Davitt, grabbed him and swept his leg out from under him.

"While at work, without any initial interaction leading him to believe there's a potential threat, he was attacked by an inmate. The inmate caught him off-guard, grabbed him by his throat and then swept his legs out from under so aggressively that when he was knocked off balance and thrown to the floor, the first part of his body to strike the cement was his head,” Penzone said.

Immediately, two other detention officers caught hold of the inmate and immediately called the paramedics. Lee was rushed to the Banner University Medical Center in Phoenix with severe injuries to his head. He was in a state of coma and died Wednesday evening.

"You may believe that because we have signed on for a job such as this that violence is an expectation and being harmed (or) injured in the line of duty is something that we just take as a part of the job. These are real people with real families. And it affects them the same way it would affect anyone else,” Penzone had said.

Meanwhile, the Sherriff’s Office was looking at transferring the inmate into the custody of the Pinal County Sheriff's Office.