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| Five Suspended, Supervisor Fired Over Alleged Inmate Abuse |
| By WCVB |
| Published: 05/20/2003 |
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The Essex County (Mass.) sheriff said last week he is suspending five jail officers and firing their supervisor for allegedly mistreating an inmate in incidents caught on tape. WCVB reported that Sheriff Frank Cousins' investigation concluded that the officers humiliated inmate Arthur Austin, 30, a mentally retarded man with the capacity of a third- or fourth-grader. The investigation stems from three incidents at the Essex County House of Corrections infirmary on March 29. Surveillance video shows officer Joseph Goldstein flicking Austin's ear at 11:20 a.m. At 12:34 p.m., Austin reportedly said he could eat an officer's birthday cake with handcuffs on, so officers cuff him. He is later seen walking by the camera with cake on his face. At 2:20 p.m., Austin is seen once again cuffed and eating more cake. 'When you're dealing with people that are in our care and custody, you have to think all the time, and unfortunately, sometimes people don't think, and here's a perfect example of something that happens,' Cousins said. Five officers received suspensions ranging from five weeks to more than eight months without pay, and they must apologize to the staff and the inmate. Their supervisor, Capt. Elaine, Bushway, was fired. 'She clearly set the tone,' Cousins said. 'I set a high standard for all of our deputies and captains, and I look at it as a very, very serious offense.' The investigation also found that race was not a factor in the incidents, a finding local NAACP head Leonard Alkins disagreed with. 'I believe it was racially motivated,' Alkins said. 'I believe it is serious enough that they should all have been terminated.' The investigation is not quite over, as evidence will be turned over to the Essex County District Attorney's Office and the FBI's civil rights unit for review. |
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