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| Cook Co. Jail Squad Boss Suspended |
| By Chicago Tribune |
| Published: 03/05/2003 |
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The head of an elite squad of Cook County Jail officers accused in a mass beating of prisoners in February 1999 was demoted, kicked off the squad and suspended Tuesday for 29 days without pay. Sheriff Michael Sheahan said Richard Remus and seven other jail officers--including Juan Diaz, the acting chief of the jail's Internal Affairs Division--were disciplined for misconduct ranging from filing false reports to conducting cell searches with guard dogs. Diaz was demoted to sergeant. At the same time, Sheahan said none of the misconduct involved excessive force, even though an internal affairs report sustained allegations that Remus struck two prisoners and Special Operations Response Team (SORT) officers under his command went to the cellblock for the specific purpose of inflicting corporal punishment on prisoners. Sheahan also announced appointment of a three-member panel to review allegations of brutality at the jail, which currently houses more than 12,000 prisoners. The panel was formed following Tribune reports last week on two alleged beatings in the jail. The first occurred Feb. 24, 1999, when 49 prisoners said they were beaten by members of SORT. In July 2000, five prisoners contend jail officers punched and kicked them while they were handcuffed and manacled at the ankles. The internal affairs investigation of the 1999 incident was stalled for more than two years--during which time the statute of limitations on criminal charges expired. Ernesto Velasco was executive director of the jail at the time of both alleged beatings. Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who had named Velasco to head the Illinois Department of Corrections, put the appointment on hold after the disclosures to investigate the incident and how Velasco responded to it. 'As the governor said, he doesn't want to move forward until he's comfortable he knows all the facts and has all the answers,' Tom Schafer, a Blagojevich spokesman, said Tuesday. The disciplinary action against Remus, 45, and the others came nearly six months after the jail's Internal Affairs Division completed a report that cited all nine officers for misconduct. Sheahan said Remus, who was a superintendent, was suspended for failing to file complete reports regarding the incident, for allowing a canine search of a cellblock with inmates present and failing to provide timely medical assistance for inmates who said they were beaten. Diaz, who was a member of the SORT unit at the time of the 1999 incident, had since been promoted to acting head of internal affairs--the unit that investigates complaints of inmate brutality. He received a written reprimand for failing to provide a full report of the incident. Sheahan said he concurred with the discipline recommended for Remus and Diaz by acting jail Director John Maul, but 'above and beyond that, I made the recommendation' that Remus and Diaz be removed from their jobs. Sheahan said that while Remus' new assignment had not been determined, he will no longer be a superintendent and his new post will be 'outside of Cook County Jail.' |
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