Inmate Attempts Self Harm During Transport Thursday

An Antelope County inmate was restrained Thursday along Highway 275 after he attemped to injure himself during transport.

Antelope County Sheriff Bob Moore said he was transporting Joshua Bell, 23 of Orchard, from the Antelope County Law Enforcement Center late Thursday morning to the Madison County Jail when Bell began slamming his head against the cage in his pickup.

On the east edge of Tilden along Highway275, Moore pulled off the highway and removed Bell from his pickup and held him to the ground until backup arrived to assist in the transport.

“We had an inmate who was acting out at our facility, so we were transporting him for security reasons to Madison when he started banging his head in the cage of the pickup and wouldn’t stop,” Moore said. “There was no escape attempt. I took him out of the truck for his own protection to keep him from injuring his head.”

Moore continued, “The only reason he was out of the pickup was for his own protection from injuring himself.”

The call for assistance led to law enforcement from multiple agencies, including the Neligh Police Department and Nebraska State Patrol, responding.

Moore said Bell was handcuffed and shackled the entire time and never posed a threat to anyone else. Moore restrained him on the ground until backup arrived. Then they jointly transported Bell to Madison, he said. ​