Florida cracking down on inmate abuse by guards...11 guards arrested so far; multiple firings [View all]
Eleven prison guards were arrested and fired this week for allegedly abusing inmates — including five guards and a captain accused of pummeling a handcuffed and shackled prisoner — in separate incidents at two Florida prisons.
The firings are part of Department of Corrections Secretary Mike Crews’ attempt to reverse the beleaguered agency’s tarnished reputation in the wake of reports of widespread brutality and cover-ups involving at least two inmate deaths.
On Wednesday, five prison guards were arrested for allegedly stomping on a handcuffed and shackled inmate at the Northwest Florida Reception Center last month. A sixth — a captain — was also charged with taking part in the attack and lying about it.
A new warden took over at the prison Friday because William Churchwell, who had overseen the Panhandle facility, is retiring, according to Crews’ spokeswoman Jessica Cary.
The guards allegedly knocked inmate Jeremiah Tatum, who had been gassed with chemical agents, to the ground face-first and jumped on him while he was handcuffed and his legs were restrained and then tried to cover it up, according to probable-cause affidavits accompanying arrest documents.
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As another sign of house-cleaning at the department, Crews also fired Okaloosa Correctional Institution guard Houston Biddle after Biddle was arrested for DUI and Desoto Correctional Institution guard Glen Gordon, who was arrested for operating a motor vehicle with a suspended or revoked driver’s license.
In the Northwest Florida Reception Center incident, Sgts. William Finch, James Perkins, Robert Miller, Christopher Christmas and Dalton Riley were charged with felony battery on an inmate. Capt. James Kirkland, accused of getting the sergeants to lie about what happened, was also charged with official misconduct. Crews also fired the workers, according to a news release issued by his office late Thursday.
http://flaglerlive.com/70314/guard-brutality-florida/
However, lawyers for the inmates say the firings and arrests don't go far enough because they are mainly low-level employees. They say the upper levels of leadership must be held accountable as well for supporting a culture of abuse.
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