Inmates Forced To Lick Toilets Clean

Local6.com ^ | May 9, 2007 | Staff

[Sleeping Beauty]

8 Former Prison Employees Accused Of Abuse

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Prosecutors issued arrest warrants on Tuesday for eight former prison employees accused of abusing inmates, including forcing some to clean toilets with their tongues.

The eight were among 13 prison employees who had already been fired from the 605-inmate medium and minimum security at the Hendry Correctional Institution in the Everglades. The previous warden and an assistant warden resigned, and three others were reassigned after an inmates was beaten and choked by guards in March.

State prisons chief Jim McDonough said the warrants include charges of battery and failing to report inmate abuse against former guards William Thiessen, Phillip Barger, Randy Hazen, Gabriel Cotilla, Kevin Filipowicz, Ruben Ibarra and Stephen Whitney. Fired guard James Brown was charged with grand theft.

"These former employees were involved in a series of dehumanizing and degrading behaviors," McDonough said, noting that some inmates were given choices of eating their food off the floor or providing sexual favors to guards.

"We had cases where inmates were compelled under threat of force to clean a commode with their tongues," McDonough said. "These were improper, illegal heinous and despicable acts and it was done apparently in an organized and conspiratorial fashion."

None of the eight men could immediately be reached for comment on Tuesday. Thiessen, Barger, Hazen and Whitney's phone numbers were unlisted. Nobody answered at a number under Ibarra's name. A number listed under Cotilla's name was connected to a fax machine, and there was not enough information to locate a number for Brown, who has a common name.

It was not known on Tuesday whether any of the men had hired attorneys.

Four guards were fired two days after Sgt. Bruce Sooy noticed several fresh bruises on inmate Charles Gundlah's neck on March 14. Officials said Gundlah was removed from his cell and taken to an area out of sight of security cameras and beaten on the head and choked into unconsciousness by guards after he filed a grievance complaining about his treatment.

Gundlah is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder and Sooy has been subsequently promoted to major.

McDonough, who has spent most of his 15 months in charge of the state's massive corrections operation cleaning up one scandal after another, said the FBI and U.S. Attorney were also looking into civil rights violations.

Just two weeks ago, McDonough's predecessor as the head of Florida's prison system, James Crosby, was sentenced to eight years in prison for taking thousands of dollars in kickbacks from a prison contractor. A top Crosby aide, Allen Clark, was sentenced to 31 months in prison for his involvement.

[hoosierham]

Jail officer is often a first step in "law enforcement" careers. A former co-worker of mine got that as her first job in the field.Her personal morals before she got the job were very flexible,and included serious lies to employer,co-workers,friends,and the poor sap(not me) who thought he was her boyfriend only to discover that while she lived with him,and went to school using his money,she was having some sort of relationship with classmate whom she married rather suddenly just after graduation.

There are a lot of dubious characters employed in law enforcement.

[don-o]

That looks extra terrestrial.

[Lancey Howard]

“If you can’t lick the slime, don’t do the crime.”

[FierceDraka]

Jail officer is often a first step in "law enforcement" careers.

Tell me about it. Grrrr.

I know of one Marion County, IN, sherrif's deputy who, before he became a jailor, got messed up on vodka and prescription meds, broke into his ex-girlfriend's apartment, waited for her to come home, then attacked and tried to murder her when she came home.

She ended up kicking his ass and calling his mommy to pick him up.

The ex-girlfriend didn't press charges, so now that bottled-up psycho now wear a badge.

BTW, his ex-girlfriend is now my lover, my confessor, my partner in crime, and my most intimate friend. The last five years have been the best years of my life.

And don't worry, we have firearms (loaded) and bladed weapons stashed all over the house.

BTW, the "deputy" in question's grandfather came to the USA from Germany after WW2 - as a disgraced member of Hitler's SS.

I guess the sh*t apple doesn't fall far from the sh*t apple tree.

[Sleeping Beauty]

“If you can’t lick the slime, don’t do the crime.”

Thanks Lancey. I just had 1,000 bumper stickers made.

[Sleeping Beauty]

“If you can’t lick the slime, don’t do the crime.”

Thanks Lancey. I just had 1,000 bumper stickers made.