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| N.Y. Jail Inmate's Fall Investigated |
| By Newsday |
| Published: 08/05/2003 |
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Sha-Kie Williams was serving a 30-day weapon- and drug-related stint at the Suffolk County jail when he got into a skirmish during an afternoon inmate count July 29. Shortly after that, the man, 18, was handcuffed and escorted through the jail's fourth-floor disciplinary unit by at least one correction officer. But somehow - possibly by stumbling or by being pushed - Williams ended up on the wrong side of an elevator door, law enforcement sources said. He fell four stories down the elevator shaft, sustaining serious injuries, authorities said. He was listed in serious condition at Stony Brook University Hospital as of July 30. 'He's in a lot of pain,' said Ardella Page, 44, Williams' mother. 'I can't get any information out of him just yet. He's remembering more than he did yesterday.' Page said her son told her the officers beat him severely, but she said that he is heavily sedated and is having trouble recalling details. She said Williams had two broken bones in his right thigh, a ruptured kidney and a lump on his forehead. She said doctors inserted into his right leg a metal rod that will remain permanently. 'I'm angry and disappointed,' she said. 'He's just a kid.' Undersheriff Donald Sullivan, who is heading the investigation, said, 'At this point ... we have no evidence to suggest that there were any criminal acts involved. But the investigation is continuing.' Though the details about the 2:40 p.m. incident are still sketchy, it sparked an internal investigation by jail officials. The incident, which jail officials immediately reported to state authorities as an 'accidental injury,' triggered the state Commission of Correction to dispatch a team of monitors to the jail. The two-person team is to monitor how well Suffolk County Sheriff Alfred Tisch's office investigates, said a commission spokesman. The team arrived on July 30. 'It was a reportable incident and we sent a team down to monitor their investigation,' said Scott Steinhardt, a spokesman for the Albany-based commission. The agency investigates deaths and violent or unusual incidents as part of its mission of overseeing all of the state's correctional facilities. The investigation, which will be thorough, is being conducted by the jail's Internal Affairs unit, Sullivan said. The deputy sheriffs charged with the task have police powers, eliminating the need for county police to intervene, he said. Law enforcement sources said the investigation centered on whether a correction officer pushed Williams into the elevator door or whether he fell into it, and then down into an empty elevator shaft. Sullivan would not comment on the exact scenario of the incident. But he did say past mechanical problems with the elevator were not related to the door improperly opening when the shaft was empty. Williams was sentenced by Suffolk District Court Judge Sonia Veras on July 18 to 30 days in jail for fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and to 15 days for fifth-degree possession of marijuana. He also pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment. |
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