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Woman held naked in jail as men watched
Atlanta Journal-Constitution ^ | 3.27.05 | Ernie Suggs

Posted on 03/27/2005 7:33:55 AM PST by mhking

After being jailed last summer in Union City, Shakita Perdue was stripped, strapped to a chair and left exposed to male prisoners and guards for hours, according to an investigation by jail officials of the incident.

Now, she is suing those she says are responsible for $10 million.

This week, Perdue, 28, filed the lawsuit in federal court against the city, the South Fulton County Municipal Regional Jail and Georgia Correctional Health, the firm that handled medical needs at the Union City-owned jail. She charges that her civil rights were abused by her jailers that night.

"I had never been treated like that before in my life," said Perdue, who was booked into the jail on a drug charge. "It was a traumatic experience. It has messed up my nerves."

In an internal report on the jail's investigation of the incident, jailer Tremata Anthony said she strapped Perdue in the chair because Perdue was drunk, abusive and threatened to kill herself the night of her arrest.

The jailer was fired 17 days after the incident occurred for failure "to conduct herself in a professional manner using sound judgment at all times," the internal report states. The report listed nine violations of jail policy in the treatment of Perdue. The report indicates that there is an "isolation room" at the jail in which Perdue could have been placed. It also says Anthony filed no incident report, nor did she justify stripping Perdue.

The internal report was provided to the Journal-Constitution by Perdue's attorney, Eldridge Suggs IV, who obtained it through Georgia's Open Records Act.

Anthony wrote in the report that Perdue's paper gown was taken away and her hair was cut because she tried to strangle herself with the gown and with her braids.

The jailer said that she put pepper spray on the chair straps because Perdue tried to chew through them.

In the same report, a nurse with Georgia Correctional Health, Cathy Adams, wrote that Perdue was restrained in an area where detainees are brought to be booked.

"Due to her violent behavior, she was held in the cage in the booking area until she was calm enough to be moved to the medical area," Adams wrote.

When a male officer asked if he could cover Perdue, Anthony wouldn't allow it, another officer wrote in the report.

Repeated calls to Anthony for comment were not returned.

Helen Turner, a Union City councilwoman, said she and other city officials first learned of the incident in an area newspaper.

"I think it is a disgrace that we didn't know anything about it," she said.

Turner called Perdue's treatment "inhumane," and said, "I was appalled to know it happened here."

Not commenting

The South Fulton County Municipal Regional Jail is owned by Union City, used by several nearby municipalities and governed by a five-member authority created by the Legislature.

J. Clark Boddie, the mayor of Palmetto and a member of the jail authority, said he would not comment about Perdue's lawsuit because the jail is named in the suit.

" I am not at liberty to talk about it at all," said Boddie, who is also a U.S. marshal. "I am familiar with the occurrence, I just can't talk about it."

Repeated calls this week to Union City Mayor Ralph Moore and City Administrator Ski Saxby were not returned. Nor were calls to Dennis Davenport, an attorney representing the city and the jail.

Georgia Correctional Health, a private company, no longer provides health care to the jail in Union City. A representative of its insurance carrier said he hasn't seen a copy of the suit.

According to the jail's own report, the incident began after midnight last July 31 when Fairburn police arrested Perdue on charges of disorderly conduct for fighting with her cousin.

When the officers ran a routine background check, they found Perdue was wanted in nearby Union City for not completing all of her required community service on a previous marijuana charge.

Fairburn police turned Perdue over to Union City authorities, and she was taken to the city's jail.

Perdue, who admits she'd been drinking that night, said she was angry and crying when she entered the jail because her cousin had not been arrested along with her. But she didn't try to kill herself, she said.

According to the investigation, conducted by jail Sgt. James Hall, Perdue was taken to the jail's shower room at 2:47 a.m.and returned less than five minutes later in a paper gown. The report said she was placed into the "cage" in the middle of the holding cell.

At 2:55 a.m., Perdue tried to choke herself, Hall wrote. A minute later, Anthony, the jailer, and Adams, the nurse, went into the cage, took off the paper gown and placed Perdue "in the restraint chair nude," Hall's report said.

Anthony's account said Perdue was threatening to kill herself. "Perdue started to bang her head against the wall," she wrote.

Efforts to help

At one point during the hours Perdue was strapped in the chair, Hall reported that two officers attempted to help her. One asked Anthony if he could go into the cage and cover Perdue because there were male officers coming in with male inmates. Anthony told him no.

Another officer, after Anthony repeatedly told him not to cover Perdue, hung a blanket over the side of the cage, "so that other inmates could not look at her nude body," according to the report.

The blanket provided incomplete cover, Hall noted.

At 6 a.m., more than five hours after her arrest, Perdue was still naked and strapped to the chair when another nurse, Arlene Campbell, arrived at work.

"I found the female [Perdue] in four-point restraints in a chair. [She] was completely nude with exposed female genitalia." Campbell's report went on to say men across from the booking center "were laughing and making remarks under their breath."

Perdue said male prisoners were allowed to sit and watch her. At least one male officer made lewd comments, she said.

Her attorney said Perdue's civil rights were trampled.

"I am going to relentlessly pursue justice on behalf of Ms. Perdue," Suggs said. "I want to make them an example."

Suggs acknowledges that Perdue has not been a model citizen. She had been arrested several times prior to the July incident, she doesn't have a steady job and she doesn't have custody of any of her five children, ages 4 to 11.

"We are in the process of helping her rehabilitate her life and we will use whatever proceeds that we are going to win to put her back in the middle of the road," Suggs said.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Georgia
KEYWORDS: donutwatch; govwatch; guards; jailers; libertarians; wodlist
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
Ok, how do you strange yourself with a paper gown

There are a lot of strange people here on FR.

161 posted on 03/29/2005 8:47:45 AM PST by ASA Vet (Vigilant Always)
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To: mhking

I couldn't care less about these career losers. On both sides of the argurement.

Just my $.02


162 posted on 03/29/2005 8:59:49 AM PST by subterfuge
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To: ASA Vet
LOL! Dang Typos!

If you wear a paper gown in public can you be charge with rustling?

163 posted on 03/29/2005 9:13:36 AM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing!? Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.)
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To: AMHN

DING~! DING~! DING~! DING~! DING~! WE HAVE A WINNER FOR BEST AND MOSTY POIGNANT POST REPLY


164 posted on 03/29/2005 9:20:06 AM PST by Mr. K (mwk_14059 on yahoo IM)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear
I don't know, but you'd better be careful of 4 year olds with crayons.
165 posted on 03/29/2005 9:22:03 AM PST by ASA Vet (Vigilant Always)
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To: SALChamps03; winstonchurchill; mhking
She was naked - At least four (male) police officers tried to cover her (several times!), and ended putting a blanket up on the cell bars to try to shield her from the male prisoners.

The jailer (a female black this time) feeling her POWER over helpless, shackled female prisoner - Gee, why does THAT sound familiar?) - abused her POWER. (Fortunately, (or maybe not) everybody involved was black, liberal, and a democrat/union member, so there won't be claims of racism.)

Once corrected, she refused to change her mind. (Gee, why does THAT sound familiar?)

But, you see, in Terri's case, we are told the courts are never wrong, the "justice system" is perfect, and we must "follow the law exactly" .

So, what do you do when the law is WRONG?
166 posted on 03/29/2005 10:42:25 AM PST by Robert A Cook PE (I can only donate monthly, but Hillary's ABBCNNBCBS continue to lie every day!)
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To: Robert A. Cook, PE
So, what do you do when the law is WRONG?

Try to change it by lawful means.

167 posted on 03/29/2005 10:53:24 AM PST by winstonchurchill
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

No, I did not. How do you equate "We don't know" with "They are liars?" We don't know means we don't know. We weren't there to see who was out of control and who wasn't out of control. Without actually witnessing the event, we can only speculate. That's what you are doing, and that's what I am doing. However, I do know this. Drug addicts lie and lie often. This whole thing could have been blown out of proportion. Apparently the administration felt justified in firing the jailer. That's fine. They have facts that we don't have. No, I don't think this person deserves any money. It's not her I don't approve of. It's her actions. Now some lawyer is going to take money from tax payers, keep most of it for himself, and then we can watch the druggie snort the rest of it up her nose. Hard working people pay taxes. No I don't want this piece of trash to get a cent. The firing of the jailer is enough.


168 posted on 03/29/2005 11:54:12 AM PST by SALChamps03
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To: binreadin
I am assuming that the victim was black also.....so it seems to me that they treat their own very badly ......

hope she gets a lot of money just so this type of abuse never happens again....

can't imagine having the likes of that jailer in charge of people.....insane...

169 posted on 03/29/2005 11:59:40 AM PST by cherry
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To: SALChamps03
You are taking the jailer's word over theirs. You are give hers more weight even though she was found guilty of misconduct. You speculate that she was railroaded.

And you are doing it because you don't like the victim.

Drug addicts lie and lie often.

You keep on repeating this as if it was her word against the jailer only. However there were Police officers in attendance.

They saw what happened. The words used are mostly theirs. And by acting as if it is only her word you put them on the same level.

I repeat you just don't like the victim so you will prefer to believe one person rather then the several police officers who witnessed her behavior.

170 posted on 03/29/2005 12:02:05 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing!? Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.)
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To: MikeinIraq
10 million? I dont know about that....

but I hope she gets something.....just IMO.

Agreed. OTOH, from the perspective of the guilty party, the award needs to be enough to get their attention. I think that's a legitimate guideline when determining the dollar figure.

171 posted on 03/29/2005 12:03:48 PM PST by TChris (Just once, we need an elected official to stand up to a clearly incorrect ruling by a court. - Ann C)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

Your speculation that she wasn't railroaded is no more valid than my speculation that she could have been. I am saying we don't know. How many times must I repeat that I do not have a problem with the fact that the jailer was fired? The administration has facts that we don't have. We are going by media reports. Media reports often misinterpret the facts. There is no way that you, I or anyone else will ever know what really happened. I stand by my statement that she doesn't deserve any money. The firing of the jailer is sufficient. Everyone thinks that every time they are wronged they deserve to become a millionaire. I disagree. She put herself in the position to begin with by A) using drugs, B) getting arrested, and C) acting like an idiot inside the jail. She is not blameless. She most certainly does not deserve to become a temporary millionaire (temporary because irresponsible people never hang onto money) because of the actions of one jail employee, who was fired. Justice has been done. Can we leave it at that?


172 posted on 03/29/2005 4:50:53 PM PST by SALChamps03
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To: SALChamps03
So you do not believe the police officers who were eyewitnesses to the event preferring wild speculation.

If you truly believe what you say in that we don't know because we were not personally there then one must ask on what you base your belief that she is a drug addict? After all you have not personally seen her do drugs.

Why do you believe that she was drunk? Did you see her?

You are not being consistent. You believe when it fits your personal world view and dismiss it when it doesn't.

173 posted on 03/29/2005 6:18:58 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing!? Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

I think you are just primed for an argument. I have stated NUMEROUS TIMES that I do not have a problem with the fact that the officer was fired. I just feel that her firing is a sufficient amount of justice. Apparently the administration felt after examining the evidence that she acted inappropriately. Therefore, she is gone. Fair enough.
I just don't think it is right to give possibly millions of dollars to this women. That wouldn't be fair to the taxpayers. You have your viewpoint. I have mine. I feel that it is only fair that the inmate share some of the blame. The officer has already taken her share. She was fired. The inmate had to have played some role in this. Can we at least agree on that, that she wasn't totally blameless? I will concede the point that the officer probably acted inappropriately, if you will at least concede that the inmate played a part in the incident with her behavior.


174 posted on 03/29/2005 7:38:58 PM PST by SALChamps03
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To: mhking

175 posted on 03/29/2005 7:41:26 PM PST by BJungNan
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To: SALChamps03
You started it dear heart.

I will concede the point that the officer probably acted inappropriately, if you will at least concede that the inmate played a part in the incident with her behavior.

Probably? How fricking noble of you. Once again you state publicly that you take the word of a jailer over the word of the several police officers present.

And how could I concede that? I was not there. Therefore according to you I could have no way of knowing that she played a part.

You concede when you are wrong. I have not been wrong in this. Therefore I concede nothing.

Although if you bothered to read my other posts you might notice I never said that she was not partially responsible.

However the actions taken were unnecessary and extreme. And yes we do punish not only the employee but also the employer because the employee's power come from the employer.

The ultimate employer is the tax payer and the voter. Sorry but that is the way we set the system up.

Government of, for and by the people.

176 posted on 03/29/2005 7:52:49 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing!? Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

So we punish the employer even though policy was violated and the employee was terminated? As I said, you're primed for an argument. You will accept nothing except me saying I was completely wrong and you were completely right. You have continuously claimed that I "said" things that I did not say. I conceded the point. What else do you want me to do, wash your car? Enough already. We can keep going back and forth for days. It's not going to change the fact that I don't think that the tax payers should pay 10,000,000 dollars. You are not going to convince me of that. You are also not going to convince me that the inmate was not partially responsible. The jailer was fired. The decision as to who was at fault has already been made by the only people who matter. I conceded that the jailer was probably at fault. I say probably because I wasn't there. This argument has run its course. We can agree to disagree.


177 posted on 03/29/2005 11:06:52 PM PST by SALChamps03
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To: SALChamps03
Yep. That is standard procedure. The employer is responsible for their employee's conduct while on the job. It does not matter if you agree with it or not, it is the law.

I say probably because I wasn't there.

There you go again. You never saw the inmate do drugs either but you have no problem calling her a druggie.

My problem with you is not that you disagree with me but that you are inconsistent in your arguments. Also that you speculate wildly to defend inappropriate behavior. That means that you create an atmosphere where such thing can occur because you stand ready to excuse and defend it.

The police station did the same thing. The jailer never would have engaged in that conduct if she hadn't thought that she would get away with it. She was brazen enough to do it in front of witnesses. This says that something is seriously wrong in that department.

178 posted on 03/31/2005 4:56:58 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing!? Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.)
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To: Harmless Teddy Bear

As I said, we can agree to disagree. You have through the course of this argument, put words in my mouth that I did not say, condemned me for speculating when you are speculating also, and basicly refused to accept the fact that I am conceding that I am not going to change your view. I have conceded the point that the jailer acted inappropriately. I only interjected the word probably because I did not personally witness it. No, I did not personally witness the alleged drug addict doing drugs, but her lawyer has spoken of her troubles with the law. I have a gut feeling that she isn't a model citizen. I do not have proof mind you, but I am fairly confident that her behavior was in part responsible for the incident. No, it doesn't excuse what the jailer allegedly did. I say allegedly only because I did not personally witness it. Now, allow me to say this. If the jailer did what was alleged, then firing her was justified. If the inmate did was it is alleged that she did, then she bears some responsibility for the incident and does not deserve ten million dollars from taxpayers who did nothing. She may get it. It is the law as you say. I don't have to like it. I don't think we have anything more to discuss.


179 posted on 03/31/2005 5:30:31 PM PST by SALChamps03
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To: SALChamps03
I only interjected the word probably because I did not personally witness it. No, I did not personally witness the alleged drug addict doing drugs, but her lawyer has spoken of her troubles with the law.

So the testimony of several police officers..."I didn't personally witness it. It is only alleged"

A comment by an lawyer... "It's the truth! Who cares that I didn't see it!"

You really don't see the inconsistency here?

180 posted on 03/31/2005 7:38:24 PM PST by Harmless Teddy Bear ( We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing!? Oh right, that would be me. Back to work.)
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