Seven federal prison officers allegedly belonging to a renegade group called “The Cowboys” have been charged with kicking inmates, smashing their heads into walls and mixing human waste into their food.
A recent federal indictment said one handcuffed inmate was choked until his eyes bulged, and another man's head was slammed repeatedly into a wall.
Altogether, the indictment listed 52 acts of abuse against at least 20 inmates in 1995 to 1997 at the maximum-security prison at Florence, 95 miles south of Denver.
The indictment is part of a two-year investigation into The Cowboys, who authorities say patrolled the prison in a reign of terror. In all, 10 officers have been indicted and the investigation is continuing.
William Vance Turner, an inmate who helped persuade authorities to investigate, asked to be placed in a witness protection program.
The Cowboys first came to light in 1999, when a member testified that the group beat inmates for infractions as minor as kicking a door. Three officers pleaded guilty last year and agreed to cooperate with authorities.
David Armstrong, 36, the first to plead guilty, said at least 11 officers began assaulting troublesome inmates in 1995, entering cells and punching or kicking prisoners, some of whom were handcuffed.
In some cases, the officers injured themselves so they could claim the inmates had attacked them first, prosecutors said.
Officers Mike Lavallee, 33, and Rod Schultz, 36, allegedly put feces and urine in inmates' food several times. Lavallee and David Pruyne, 35, threw a burning piece of paper into a locked cell as a pretext for spraying two inmates with fire retardant, according to prosecutors.
The officers are also accused of kicking prisoners in the back and testicles and dropping handcuffed prisoners.
Lavallee allegedly told Armstrong and other officers that officers had the “green light” from prison authorities to ``take care of business.'' Lavallee and Schultz told other officers to ``lie until you die'' about the abuse and threatened to retaliate against officers who refused to back them up, prosecutors said.
The alleged abuse took place in the special housing unit, reserved for violent and troublesome inmates or those isolated for their own protection.
All the officers except Robert Verbickas, 40, are still employed by the penitentiary. The spokeswoman said she could not say whether the six were still on the job because of privacy concerns, but said it is common practice to place employees facing criminal charges on leave. Ken Shatto, 35; Brent Gall, 32; and James Bond, 37, were also indicted. All seven are charged with conspiring to injure and intimidate inmates and violate their constitutional rights. If convicted, they could get up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $250,000.