FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) - A Fairfax County sheriff’s deputy with a history of involvement in fatal incidents has been charged with sexually assaulting an inmate in his custody.
Fairfax City Police say Patrick D. McPartlin, 45, of Warrenton was arrested Tuesday and charged with object sexual penetration.
Police say McPartlin was taking a female inmate from the Fairfax County jail to the Loudoun County jail when the assault occurred in the county-owned vehicle issued to McPartlin.
McPartlin was ordered held without bond at his arraignment Wednesday in Fairfax County General District Court. The hearing, which was conducted via video hookup because McPartlin is being held at the Alexandria jail, was not open to the public or reporters. Court officials said the courtroom door was locked because of concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
McPartlin told a judge he has a lawyer, though he did not identify the lawyer by name.
McPartlin has worked at the sheriff’s office for more than 20 years. In 2016, he fatally shot a hospital patient who was having a mental episode and wielding a metal sign post outside Inova Fairfax Hospital. McPartlin was at the hospital guarding another patient when he responded to the incident. Authorities said the man who was killed had injured a hospital guard and advancing at McPartlin when he shot.
He was also part of a team of deputies in 2015 that used multiple shocks from a stun gun to restrain another mentally ill inmate. Natasha McKenna died after receiving four Taser shots during a 15-minute struggle.
Prosecutors opted against filing criminal charges in McKenna’s death, calling it a “tragic accident.” But her family filed a civil lawsuit and The Washington Post reported in 2018 that the family won a $750,000 settlement.
The Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment, referring questions to Fairfax City Police.
Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) Northern Virginia, which protested McKenna’s treatment, issued a statement Wednesday criticizing county Sheriff Stacey Kincaid for continuing to employ McPartlin despite his history.
“We are disgusted but not surprised, as we have been expressing outrage over Deputy McPartlin’s behavior for years,” the statement read.
Sean Perryman, president of the Fairfax County chapter of the NAACP, said the arrest, combined with McPartlin’s history, “raises questions about county leadership and what they’re doing to ensure things like this don’t happen. Why was he still able to work there?”
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