PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A Portsmouth judge dismissed the case Tuesday against a former Hampton Roads Regional Jail officer accused of strangling an inmate.
The ex-officer, Robert Whitaker, was accused of putting Johnnie Simmons in a chokehold at the jail in 2019.
He was charged with felony strangulation, but Portsmouth Circuit Court Judge Joel Crowe said there wasn't enough evidence for the case to go to trial.
Simmons, who has since been released from jail, shared his story with 13News Now in February, alleging that Whitaker choked him until he passed out.
"I tried to say 'I can't breathe,' and I found that there's a luxury in saying 'I can't breathe,' because I couldn't utter the words,” Simmons said.
Whitaker’s defense attorney argued during a preliminary hearing in May that there was no evidence that Whitaker put Simmons into a chokehold.
Whitaker said Simmons was refusing to walk back to his housing pod, and officers had been carrying him back before he started flailing.
Other officers testified that they “brought Simmons to the floor” but that no one touched the inmate’s neck.
Simmons said that wasn't the case, pointing to a moment in surveillance video obtained by 13News Now where his right leg went limp.
"Mr. Whitaker took me to the ground and put me in a chokehold, like the Eric Garner chokehold," he said. "And he began choking me continuously while I was handcuffed, and I was defenseless."