Schaumburg man charged again with assaulting officers

A Schaumburg man with a history of attacking Cook County jail correctional officers is accused again of attacking guards on Tuesday, the sheriff's office said.

Two guards attempting to transfer Daquan Houston, 18, into the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services were attacked Tuesday, breaking one officer's nose, sheriff's officials said in a release. The other officer had his fingers broken and suffered a shoulder and head injuries.

Houston was first arrested in January and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Since then, on four separate occasions, Houston has assaulted correctional officers, officials said. He's been charged with three counts of aggravated battery to an officer, while the most recent assault remains under investigation.

In February, he struck a guard multiple times in the face, causing a broken nose and dislocated jaw and another officer suffered a broken arm and right hand, officials siad. In March, he punched another officer in the face, authorities said.

“Cook County jail houses both our community's most violent criminals and the largest mentally ill population in the United States, creating a challenging and increasingly untenable work environment for our employees,” Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said in a statement. “We will not sit idly by as the seriously mentally ill continue to cycle through the jail when they belong in treatment.”

On April 28, a judge ordered him to be remanded to the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services, and county jailers were attempting to do that when the most recent assault took place, officials said.

Houston was transferred Wednesday to Chester Mental Health facility.