Missouri corrections officer charged with false imprisonment

MARSHFIELD, Mo. — A southwest Missouri prison supervisor has been charged with false imprisonment for forcing a female employee into a cell and closing the door on her.

Johnny Burkdoll, 56, also was charged Tuesday with misdemeanor third-degree assault after the incident at the Ozark Correctional Center in Fordland, The Springfield News-Leader reported. No attorney is listed for Burkdoll in online court records.

A probable-cause statement said Burkdoll called the employee to his office in July and told her to go to a segregation unit to see her boyfriend, who also worked at the center. A segregation unit houses prisoners separately from others.

When the employee declined, Burkdoll put his hands on her shoulder and pushed her down the hall while she tried to get away. He then opened the door to the segregation unit and shoved her inside, according to the statement. The woman’s boyfriend had to let her out.

The Missouri Department of Corrections said Burkdoll continues to work for the department but would not comment further on personnel issues, spokesman David Owen said.

Information from: Springfield News-Leader, http://www.news-leader.com