Sedgwick County deputy hospitalized after punched, dragged by inmate

A Sedgwick County Jail deputy was hospitalized Friday morning after he was punched by an inmate who then tried to drag him into a cell, Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Nathan Gibbs said.

The deputy suffered a “significant wound to the face,” Gibbs said in a news release.

Joshua Ratcliff, a 34-year-old Wichita man on parole, now faces additional charges for the incident. Ratcliff has been in jail since Thursday after being arrested on a warrant for parole violation.

The fight between the deputy and Ratcliff happened around 8 a.m. Friday while the deputy was collecting breakfast trays, Gibbs said.

“While collecting the tray, the inmate walked out of his cell and into the dayroom of the pod,” Gibbs said. “The inmate was not authorized to be in the dayroom of the pod at that time and was directed to return to his cell. The inmate became upset and struck the deputy with a closed first to the side of the face. A physical altercation ensued. At one point, the inmate attempted to drag the deputy inside of a cell.”

The deputy was able to get away and back to his desk in the dayroom, Gibbs said, and a response team arrived to help.

Ratcliff is on parole after serving more than two years in prison, according to Kansas Department of Corrections records. He was convicted in March 2020 for two separate 2019 incidents involving possession of drugs and criminal possession of a firearm by a felon, records show. He also has a 2010 conviction for aggravated battery. All of the convictions are from Sedgwick County cases.