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| Ex-Prison Officer Says He Resigned Over Threats |
| By Rocky Mountain News |
| Published: 06/27/2003 |
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Robert Oest, a former officer at the Federal Correctional Institution in Englewood, says he was forced to resign in 2000 after receiving threats for reporting the beating of an inmate by another officer. He also says the Bureau of Prisons retaliated against him for being a whistle-blower by subjecting him to a hostile work environment and trying to cover up what happened. 'I didn't do anything wrong,' said Oest, 52. 'I followed the rules of procedure and the letter of integrity. They wanted to burn the messenger to protect the agency.' Officials with the Bureau of Prisons declined to talk specifically about Oest's case, citing privacy concerns, but gave general statements about the issues he raised. 'The Bureau of Prisons takes any allegations of mistreatment of prisoners seriously and investigate all allegations,' said Traci Billingsley, spokeswoman for the bureau. She also said, 'We follow all federal guidelines on whistle-blower protections.' Oest is taking his case to the U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a decision made by an administrative judge for the Merit Services Protection Board in March. The judge ruled Oest had left his job with the Bureau of Prisons voluntarily and there was not a hostile work environment. Shannon McCarthy, deputy clerk for the Merit Services Protection Board, said the board's decision speaks for itself. 'We found there was no jurisdiction,' she said. 'If he had made a case that he had been forced to resign, we would hear the merits of the case. But the judge found otherwise.' On March 17, 1996, Oest was among five officers escorting an uncooperative inmate to his cell. Oest says he saw a senior officer slam the prisoner against the wall and hit his face repeatedly into the floor until it bled from a laceration. Oest said he agonized for nearly a month before reporting the alleged incident, after he says he learned the four other officers didn't report the beating. 'I got a family, I got bills to pay,' he said. 'I had people who would come down on me, but my conscience wouldn't let me go. I had to come forward.' At that point, Oest said, he began receiving anonymous threats at work, with pieces of cheese being left at his computer, indicating he was a 'rat.' Oest said he began fearing for his safety and asked the warden for a transfer to food services at the prison, away from other officers and most inmates. The transfer was granted in July 1996, even though it meant a demotion in government rating and pay. The threats continued, but not as frequently, Oest said. But things came to a head in 2000, when Oest took a 12-week leave for the birth of his second child. During his absence, he learned that he had been replaced in food services and would be reassigned to officer duty when he returned from leave. Oest said he decided to resign at that point. |
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