Hennepin County jailhouse deputy returns to work after brutal assault

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A Hennepin County jail deputy is fortunate to be alive and back at work after surviving a brutal assault on the job. 

Deputy Matthew Durette was attacked by an inmate while removing his handcuffs following a November 2023 court hearing. This week, Deputy Durette provided a victim impact statement at his attacker’s sentencing. The man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after a jury found him guilty of assault.

Durette survives vicious attack

What we know:

Hennepin Co Sheriff’s Office detention deputy Matthew Durette was viciously attacked by an inmate inside the downtown Minneapolis jail in November 2023. Deputy Durette had his nose broken in three places, ruptured a pair of discs in his back, and eventually required hip surgery from a torn labrum. 

"He was going to kill me if I didn't… like something had to happen. He was going to kill me," recalled Durette.

FOX 9 obtained jailhouse surveillance video of the lead-up to the assault. The video shows Durette escorting inmate Gregory Garcia back to a jail cell following a court hearing. As deputy Durette removed Garcia’s handcuffs, Garcia sucker punched Durette with a left hand to Durette’s chin. From there, Garcia landed three dozen blows and attempted to choke Durette twice in less than a minute.

Said Durette, "It was an ambush. I mean that is the best way to describe it, he ambushed me."

"I don't think I have ever seen an assault that brutal," said Sgt. Diane Nelson, a veteran investigator with the Sheriff’s Office major crimes unit. "And I have been with the sheriff's office for 29 years. An assault that brutal on our staff, it was shocking."

9 months of recovery

Timeline:

It took nine months for Durette to return to his jailhouse assignment after recovering physically and mentally from his injuries. He says, what happened that day during what was an otherwise routine shift, will always be with him. 

He said Garcia was pleasant during the move from the courthouse facility to the jail, giving no indication of the violence he was about to unleash.

"I go over that scenario a lot," explained Durette, an Army veteran who served a tour in Afghanistan. "But yeah, I have gone back to transporting inmates and stuff like that. What happened that day is not normal. I still use the same amount of caution, the same precautions I did before. I have not allowed this to change how I do the job."

‘It was an attack on law enforcement’

Dig deeper:

To this day, Deputy Durette is grateful for the response from his brothers and sisters in uniform who rushed to the jail to aid him during the attack, provided comfort during his recovery, and then joined him in a courtroom this week when Garcia was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Durette said, "It was an attack on me, but it was an attack on law enforcement. That's what he wanted to do. He wanted to hurt somebody wearing a uniform, plain and simple."

Garcia behind bars for 11 years

What's next:

According to online prison records, the 24-year-old Garcia will remain behind bars for 11 years before serving the rest of his sentence on some form of supervised release.

Durette is currently working on his degree to become a licensed peace officer with a goal of one day working in an investigation unit.

"There was never any question on whether or not I was going to come back or not," said Durette. "My whole life has been about service. I am dedicated to continuing to work in law enforcement. It is what I have made my entire adult life about, has been about service."