Arpaio's Deaths in Custody: Stealing gifts from God.

The wrongful death of Deborah Braillard (Braillard v. Maricopa County, et al)is going to a jury trial tomorrow, September 12, 2012 at the Sandra Day O'Connor Federal Courthouse in Phoenix.

Here's what ABC News most recently has had to say:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/video/arizona-womans-jail-death-leads-to-lawsuit-17209730

Here's my original post, with the lead to the article from the Phoenix New Times below.

 4th Avenue Jail, Phoenix

--------from Arizona Prison Watch (December 11, 2010)-----------

Those citizens with their civil rights intact who flocked to Arizona to exploit cheap labor and avoid paying for public schools - not the families who migrated here from our south - are the people who endanger us the most. Increasingly, elections in this state are not exercises in democracy but acts of violence perpetrated on those of us whose voices don't count. If anyone plans to tamper with the constitution next year, it should be only to disenfranchise all the sadistic, delusional voters who support the likes of Joe Arpaio, applauding his stubborn refusal to provide health care to prisoners, his misogynistic policies and underwear, and his abusive staff.

It's sad how many of Arpaio's posse members actually think of themselves as "Christians", you know - good ones, at that. They must have missed the part in the Bible about how Christ was a prisoner himself (as were Daniel, the Apostle Paul, and my own ancestor, Brigham Young - who would no doubt be treated as a sex offender today - even if never convicted). Would they entrust the care of their prophet, their Savior, or even Mother Mary to the Maricopa County Sheriff - or to the rest of the good Christians who voted for Sheriff Joe, for that matter?

How about the care of their own mothers?

Investigative journalist Michael Lacey has written a lot of good pieces for the Phoenix New Times - this one should really bring home an award. I'm just giving you the beginning - follow the link for the rest, and take the extra time to view the depositions after you read. One prisoner testifies that she witnessed guards drag a "mentally challenged" women by her ankle, and begins to cry. Another one details the pains that the other criminals went to in order to try to keep Deborah Braillard alive and restore her to health themselves. Sadly, it's so often the case for people who are incarcerated that the most compassion they encounter as they are dying comes from their fellow prisoners. The last video in the series of depositions is this brief clip of Deborah's daughter describing the last days of her mother's life - on a ventilator and chained to a bed....

Good job, Sheriff Joe: that's really being "tough on crime." You can't clear your violent crimes so you vilify and brutalize whatever people you can take prisoner.
It's truly disturbing that your officers don't walk out on you en masse.

We have to figure out how to take back the keys to our jails from Arpaio and his crew before they kill some other little girl's mom or grandma, or someone's else's child. This is not an isolated incident - it's evidence of the criminal practices and patterns of the MCSO and Sheriff Joe that both shame and harm us all. We can't afford two more years.

Finally, remember, dear lawmakers and lawmen: when you deprive the people of meaningful mechanisms to participate in our government peacefully - all the while bludgeoning us and our communities with your rights to profit and your penchant for prisons - you not only risk your re-election, you tempt your fates. You Tea Party tyrants are the ones who will spark a real revolution that can't be contained by your lies and legislation, or by your badges and guns. That's not a threat - just a warning. It's all I can see coming of your selfishness, bigotry, self-righteousness, and outright hate.

--------------------from the Phoenix New Times----------------------

What's Mom Worth? When a Woman Became Deathly Ill in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's Jail, Guards and Nurses Ignored Her Agony...

by Michael Lacey

December 9, 2010

Deborah Braillard, mother
(1991)

Mom taught me to sew.

And I' m going to teach my own baby, Jennylee. Eventually.

Jennylee is a quick study for a 6-year-old.

She watches as I sew her Minnie Mouse costume. She is double-twice excited, though honestly, I think I like Halloween as much as she does, even if it is a gloomy time of year.

Come, sit here, Pumpkin, and watch now how I pin the paper pattern here on the cloth. You see that, sweetie? You cut this out while I trim the red polka dots for your bow.

Done.

You take a good look at these pieces and try to guess where they'll go. Mommy will be right back.

As mother and daughter work inside their little trailer, outside, slate-stained cumulonimbus clouds menace, gray anvil domes await the strike.

Deborah ducks, briefly, into the tiny, plywood-framed bathroom for a little pick-me-up. When she emerges, the sweetness of this moment with Jennylee does not escape her notice.

But lightning in the darkness overcomes it.

Deborah shivers in spite of herself.

Hey there, Pumpkin, here's the last part.

I'll just straight-stitch the seams, roll the fabric to make a hem, and secure the bow with a whip-stitch.

Let me iron up the white apron and spray it with starch to give it a little oomph.

You look perfect.

Wait! Wait! . . . Here, a little mascara, we'll make a black dot for your nose and whiskers. Hold still now, a little lipstick.

Okay, let's walk over to the community center.

Grandma will meet us there.

Jennylee, if you aren't the best mouse ever . . .

Jennylee Braillard, daughter
(2010 interviews)

"Just about my first memory of my mom was the Minnie Mouse costume she made me at Gold Bar, which is where you can hook up your trailer just outside Monroe, Washington.

"I won first place that Halloween. My prize was a six-pack of root beer."

As Jennylee speaks, her own infant daughter, Kaylynn, coos and looks around, a bow tied to her little, full-moon head.

"My mom was always happy. She was nurturing, caring. She was my mom."

Her mother's ashes sit in a container in Jennylee's home in west Phoenix. The dust is such a small amount inside a little vessel; you'd hardly believe that someone's remains could amount to so little.

It is a fact that Deborah Braillard did not always make good choices.

She died an agonizing death in a diabetic coma that would wring the life out of her over three weeks that seemed without end.

The bigger truth is that she was hurried on her way.

Deborah Braillard's passing is never far from Jennylee's thoughts; after all, she watched the worst of it.

"I was terrified to open the plastic bag with her ashes. I put mom in a big jewelry box. I think about taking her back to Gold Bar. That's where my grandmother and great grandmother are buried. It's been in the family forever. There are nature trails there . . .

"But I worry if something happens to my uncle who lives there [what would happen to Mom]."

Consider: In May 2010, researchers at the University of Wisconsin find that, in stressful situations, cortisol levels in girls soar. But for many of the young women, simply hearing their mother's voice is enough to wash away the anxiety, replacing the stress hormone with feelings of love.

Men have no such relief.

What happens between a mother and daughter comes from God.

Tamela Harper, inmate

(2007 deposition)


Tamela Harper is detained in Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jail when they put Deborah Braillard into her cell in January 2005.

"She was unconscious [on the evening of the 2nd]. She wasn't hardly there. She walked back to her bunk, and that was the last time I saw that lady walking. People were helping her. She was throwing up constantly.

[Next day] that's when she started moaning and groaning and throwing up. She was basically unconscious at the time. She couldn't speak. She couldn't eat. The officers kept saying she was kicking heroin.

"She defecated on herself several times. There was no help for her. We kept telling the officers, you need to help her."

Brenda Tomanini, inmate

(2007 deposition)


Deborah Braillard threw up on other inmates, from her bunk to theirs. No guards, no nurses. The inmates, and Deborah, were alone on the 3rd.

On the morning of the 4th, medical asked to have Braillard brought into the clinic. But trusties could not wake the unconscious Deborah. She was left vegetating.

"I couldn't get Ms. Braillard up. Couldn't do it. She wouldn't respond to me at all. I could tell that she was breathing, but I couldn't get a response out of her.

"It just freaked me out because I don't think in my experience . . . I don't think she had been on drugs."

But the guards in the jail say different.

"Don't worry about Deborah Braillard. She's getting what she deserves. She's coming off drugs," is how Tomiani remembers it.

The inmates understand the drill, says Tomanini.

Tomanini described a retarded inmate brutalized for her sass.

"It broke my heart. I had to put my head under my blankets, and I cried. It broke my heart to see something like that."

Tomanini's experience with the medical clinic underscores the sense of neglect.

"I got sick and I was running a fever, and I had put a tank order in — that's what they call it for medical. And two months went along, and I didn't get any better. I was waiting for medical to call me . . . You had to fight to get medical attention.

Consider: It was standard procedure to collapse on the floor in order to get medical attention. Otherwise you might well be ignored by an overwhelmed medical clinic. Inmates report that guards would actually instruct them to drop, to collapse. Only then would a call — man down! — go out to the nurses.

Deborah Braillard, mother


Do I think? I think not.

I am aware.

I am aware of the I-will-nots:

I will not see my granddaughter, Kaylynn, walk. I will not give her my finger to steady her early toddles. I will not go down a slide with her. I will not put a Band-Aid on her owie.

I will not get a chance to be a better grandmother than I was a mom. Ever.

Consider: Deputies find methamphetamine in Braillard's purse about midnight on January 1, 2005. She is with a small group of users whose car breaks down in a parking lot on the west side when officers happen upon them.

She is admitted into the jail about 2 a.m. on January 2. Though the entire prison is videotaped around the clock, the sheriff is unable to produce any film of Deborah's early custody.

Historically, when inmates are killed or injured, Sheriff Arpaio loses evidence and incriminating video surveillance or produces video so degraded it is unwatchable.

Almost a full day after her initial booking, Braillard is transferred from the intake jail downtown to the all-female Estrella jail in west Phoenix. For the next 60 hours, guards at Estrella assume, mistakenly, that her wretched condition is the result of her kicking drugs.

This lethal mistake is aided and abetted by a poultice of organizational neglect combined with personal insensitivity that overwhelms thin outbreaks of humanity...

(Go to the source to read the rest... then PLEASE contact the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and tell them you want these people criminally prosecuted to the fullest extent every time they neglect or abuse a prisoner. Only then will some of this stop.)

Hulstedt v Scottsdale: Cops lied; Scottsdale/MCAO still prosecuting innocence

On N0vember 7, 2008 Scottsdale cops shot, brutally dragged, and permanently paralyzed a seriously mentally ill man who called them to ask for the Attorney General to come to his home. They had a come SWAT team help him out instead of allowing his family to talk him down from an agitated, distressed state, and he was holding his baby girl in his arms who was consequently injured when he was shot. 

Sound familiar?

Another Scottsdale cop, James Peters, just retired with full disability pension after shooting and killing John Loxas while he held his grandchild in his arms...sure am glad I don't live in Scottsdale these days.

Here's the original post on David's shooting: 

PROSECUTING INNOCENCE: The shooting of David Hulstedt

A year later a grand jury returned an indictment of David, alleging he had kidnapped and abused his child himself the day the cops shot him. Unfortunately, it appears as if David is still being prosecuted for the alleged crimes that "justified" his shooting. That despite his serious mental illness (he was very delusional when the cops attacked him in his yard), and the findings yesterday by federal judge G. Murray Snow that the cops lied repeatedly in order to justify their shooting, which was all screwed up to begin with (thank god for the video of the whole thing). 

Why is David still being prosecuted? From the file I just read, the cops who shot him are the ones who should be facing prosecution.

David's guardian sued on his behalf, and yesterday was a hearing on several motions re: Hulstedt v Scottsdale. News on that front is mostly good; below are some excerpts from the court record. Read the whole thing if you can - it's fascinating and the arguments apply to not only police brutality/ excessive force cases, but also searches.

First, these are the civil claims for damages that were filed on David's behalf:

"Plaintiffs’ complaint contains nine claims for relief under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 and seven supplemental claims under Arizona state law.3 (Doc. 28).

In Claim One, Plaintiffs allege that Officer Dorer and Officer Slavin violated David Hulstedt’s Fourth Amendment rights by using excessive force against him when they shot him.

In Claim Two, they allege that Officer Fellows and Officer Garcia violated David Hulstedt’s Fourth Amendment rights by using excessive force when they handcuffed him and dragged him across the asphalt, that Sgt. Dorer is liable for ordering that David be handcuffed, and that Sgt. Slavin is liable for ordering the officers to drag David to the ambulance.

Counts Three through Six, along with certain allegations in Count Seven, have already been dismissed on the pleadings by the original judge in this matter. (Doc.182).4

In the remaining portions of Claim Seven, Plaintiffs allege that officers searched the Hulstedt home in violation of the Fourth Amendment after the shooting, and that Det. Lockerby procured a search warrant for the home through judicial deception.

In Claim Eight, Plaintiffs allege that Lt. O’Halloran, Sergeant Scott Smith, Sergeant Dorer, and Sergeant Slavin bear supervisory responsibility under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for directing their subordinates to act in ways that deprived Plaintiffs of their constitutional rights.

Claim Nine(a) argues that the City is liable based on two theories of municipal liability: a failure to train officers and a ratification of the officers’ decisions by the Chief of Police.

The remaining claims arise under Arizona state tort law.

Claim Nine(b) is for Battery against Sgt. Slavin, Sgt. Dorer, Officer Fellows, Officer Garcia, and the City.

Claim Ten is for Negligence by Sgt. Dorer, Sgt. Slavin, Det. Lockerby, and the City.

Claim Eleven is for Negligence against Operator Trott and the City of Scottsdale.

Claim Twelve is for Defamation against Officer Greene, Det. Lockerby, Officer Scritchfield, and the City.

Claim Thirteen is for Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress (“IIED”) against Sgt. Slavin, Officer Scritchfield, Officer Clark, Officer Greene, Det. Lockerby, Officer Fellows, Officer Garcia and others.

Claim Fourteen is for Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress against Sgt. Slavin and Sgt. Dorer, and

Claim Fifteen is for Loss of Consortium against Sgt. Slavin and Sgt. Dorer.

Defendants move for summary judgment on every claim. (Doc. 271). Plaintiffs move for summary judgment on Claim One, Claim Two, the remaining portion of Claim Seven, Claim Nine(a), Claim Nine(b), and Claim Ten. (Doc. 265)."

Now, some remarks and observations made by the judge in reflecting on these claims (DH refers to David's 3 year old daughter): 

"One cannot pay “careful attention to the facts and circumstances of [this] particular case” and still conclude that the officers were free to fire at David and D.H. as soon the negotiators had coaxed him out of his front door. Graham, 490 U.S. at 396; (Doc. 313-2, Ex. L-1 at 6)...."

"Once the family members’ cell phones had been confiscated, Officer Antrim continued to speak to David over the telephone, stating that “we’re working on getting your brother but you do know as well as I do that this is not a real common practice to send someone into a home like that.” (Doc. 313-2, Ex. L-2 at 5). After fifteen minutes of negotiation, David apparently once again expressed concern that the police were there to shoot him. Officer Antrim continued to negotiate, and learned more about David’s anxiety and his medication. (Doc. 313-2, Ex. L-2 at 8).

Five minutes later, David told the negotiation team that he was ready to leave the house. (Doc. 313-2, Ex. L-2 at 14). When Sgt. Slavin, who was still putting on his SWAT team gear, heard over the radio that the subject was going to leave the house, he “started running down towards the command post.” (Doc. 269, Ex. PP at 144). When Sgt. Slavin reached the command post, he told the officers there that he wanted to go to the scene, obtained directions from them, and continued running towards the house. (Id.). Sgt. Slavin
had heard the previous radio transmissions, but was not aware of any operational plan, did not know how many officers were on the scene, and did not know if any officers had firearms at the ready or deployed. (Doc. 266-3, Ex. L-3 at 169–70). He made the decision to go to the scene on his own, passing through residential yards containing vegetation and cacti to reachthe house. (Id.)..."

"Neither Sgt. Slavin nor Sgt. Dorer warned David that they would shoot him if he did not comply with their commands, and both of them shot him in the back as he was walking away from them and towards the house. (Doc. 313-1, Ex. B at 57, Pospisil video). Sgt. Dorer, when asked if he ever perceived at any particular moment that David was going to “piledrive” D.H., responded, “I did not.” (Doc. 267, Ex. S at 44). Instead, he shot David “to prevent him from going back into the house.” (Id. at 43). When David was shot, he released D.H. as he collapsed and she fell forward onto the concrete walkway from a height of approximately six feet. (Pospisil video).

After David fell, officers converged on D.H. and David. (Pospisil video). Sgt. Dorer and Sgt. Slavin approached David on the ground; Sgt. Dorer ordered him handcuffed and Sgt. Slavin “ordered him to be dragged away from the scene.” (Doc. 269, Ex. PP at 145). Officer Deven Fellows and Officer Marcos Garcia handcuffed David and dragged him approximately 400 feet to where the medics were stationed. (Doc. 266-2, Ex. E at 136). The officers held David under his arms with his face pointed downward, so that his bare knees were in contact with the asphalt and gravel. The dragging resulted in “gaping wounds in David’s knees” that required extensive medical attention."

"The Ninth Circuit has written that summary judgment is rare in cases of police misconduct, because “police misconduct cases almost always turn on a jury’s credibility determinations.” Santos v. Gates, 287 F.3d 846, 853 (9th Cir. 2002) (emphasis added). This case is an exception to that general caution. Almost everything the officers heard was recorded and transcribed, and the shooting itself was recorded on video. The officers fired at an unarmed man who was walking away from them. Although he had issued threats against D.H. earlier, nothing he did after walking outside would suggest to a reasonable officer that he was placing D.H. in imminent danger of suffering any more harm than falling to the ground. By shooting David, the officers caused the very harm that a reasonable officer could believe that David posed to D.H. Considering “the totality of the facts and circumstances in the particular case,” no reasonable officer could have believed that shooting David without warning, while he calmly walked back towards his house with D.H. over his head, was a proper means of protecting D.H.’s safety. Blanford, 406 F.3d at1115...."

And the judge's order: 

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED:

1. Plaintiffs’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 265) is granted in part and denied in part.

2. Defendants’ Motion for Partial Summary Judgment (Doc. 271) is granted in part and denied in part.

3. The remaining claims are as follows:

A. On Claim One, summary judgment is entered for Plaintiffs.

B. On Claim Two, summary judgment is entered for Defendants on thehandcuffing claim and denied to both parties on the dragging claim.

C. On Claim Seven, summary judgment is entered for Plaintiffs on the warrantless search allegations. (Doc. 28 ¶¶ 290–296). Summary judgment is entered for Defendants on the judicial deception claim. (Doc. 28 ¶¶ 297–301).

D. On Claim Eight, summary judgment is entered for Defendant on the claims against Sgt. Slavin, and Lt. O’Halloran, and for Sgt. Dorer regarding the handcuffing. Summary judgment is entered for Plaintiffs against Sgt. Dorer regarding the warrantless search. Summary judgment is denied to both parties with regards to the dragging claims. Summary judgement is denied to both parties with regards to Sgt. Slavin.

E. Claim Nine(a) survives only with regards to the ratification claim (Doc. 28 ¶308) and is otherwise dismissed.

F. On Claim Nine(b), summary judgment is entered for Plaintiffs against Dorer and Slavin regarding the shooting. Summary judgment is denied to both parties regarding Officer Fellows’ and Garcia’s dragging David to the ambulance.

G. Claim Ten is dismissed.

H. Claim Eleven survives.

I. Claim Twelve survives

J. Claim Thirteen survives only with regards to Officer Greene and Sgt. Slavin, and is otherwise dismissed.

K. Claim Fourteen is dismissed.

L. Claim Fifteen survives.

4. Plaintiffs’ Motion for Reconsideration (Doc. 333) and Motion for Certification of Issue for Interlocutory Appeal (Doc. 333-34) are both denied.

DATED this 6th day of August, 2012.

-------------

If David's family is out there reading this now, please get in touch with me - I want to connect you with folks who have been advocating for the mentally ill in the criminal justice system for awhile. They want to offer your family support. My name is Peggy Plews; my number is 480-580-6807; my email is arizonaprisonwatch@gmail.com

Risking prison rape for graffiti fame: counter-revolutionary.

This was released today by the Maricopa County Attorney's office (they kicked my own felony down to 3 misdemeanors, apparently. I hope that's all I'm facing, anyway). This 18-year-old is on his way to prison, and he's bragging about being a "king". 

King of what, exactly? 

He has no idea what he's really facing if he ends up in an Arizona state prison. Guys who are masters at beating, raping and killing cocky youth like him - not writing on church walls - are running the yards. They're going to eat him alive in there - he'll be candy for them. That's why so many others are just killing themselves once they arrive.

I hope not all the young taggers out there are really this naive'...please respect our hoods and find a way to express yourselves legally, people. I get some of what you're doing, guys, but don't go to prison for this kind of shit. Come Occupy Phoenix or protest police brutality with us and just bring chalk - or a piece of cardboard with your paint. Teach me some new techniques - I learn a lot from real writers and artists. Think of it as a challenge....I dare you to drop your cans for one day. Then we'll talk revolution, if that's what you're really all about.

-----------------from the MCAO---------------------

Graffiti Tagger “Shaggy” Faces Criminal Damage Charges

PHOENIX, AZ (October 12, 2011) – A Maricopa County Grand Jury has charged Daniel Alexander Lopez (D.O.B. 5/13/1993) with one class 6 felony count of Aggravated Criminal Damage and one class 5 felony count of Criminal Damage for allegedly committing multiple acts of graffiti that defaced property and structures throughout the Phoenix metro area over a three year period. He is believed to be one of the most prolific graffiti vandals currently in Maricopa County.

“Graffiti is not a harmless form of creative expression. It’s a destructive crime that victimizes entire communities by creating blight and encouraging additional criminal activity,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “In conjunction with the diligent efforts of Phoenix Police and the Phoenix Graffiti Busters program, my office will continue to aggressively pursue graffiti vandals and hold them accountable for their destructive actions,” he added.

On May 10, 2011 Phoenix Police Officers spotted Lopez trespassing on State property near an onramp to State Route 51 at McDowell Road. This area is near multiple freeway overpasses that are frequently targeted by graffiti vandals. Lopez was found in possession of a tip to an aerosol spray paint can and had white paint on his hands that matched the paint on the spray tip. Officers also found fresh graffiti tags in white paint on structures near the location where Lopez was apprehended.

Lopez later admitted to investigators that he had been “tagging” throughout the Phoenix area since 2006 using the name “Shag,” “Shaggy” and “Shagone.” The current indictment lists more than 30 victims who suffered damages in excess of $5,500. Victims include Family Dollar Stores, Sears, Arizona Department of Transportation, New Hope in Christ Church, and multiple private citizens.

Lopez told investigators he was well aware of the risk he was taking by engaging in graffiti vandalism, adding that he had no plans to stop until he was caught. “If you become a King you will get caught eventually and that’s the risk you have to take,” he said.

Referrals of juvenile graffiti cases to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office have spiked 46% in the last five years, while referrals of cases involving possession of graffiti tools have more than tripled. The County Attorney’s Office typically files formal charges on roughly 90% of criminal damage case submittals (ARS §13-1604), with resulting sentences ranging from probation to two years in prison or longer.

The indictment and information announced today is not evidence of guilt. Mr. Lopez is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Cop-Court Watch: Montgomery on Gerster & Keesee

"Indict Arpaio" Rally - Wells Fargo,
June 7, 2011 (Phoenix)

For those of you following the cases of the MCSO detention officers (Kevin Gerster and Alan Keesee) who assaulted their prisoners in the psychiatric unit of Lower Buckeye Jail, I'm writing to try to set the prosecutor's side of the story straight - or at least give you a piece of it. I guess it's more a clarification than a correction, so I didn't rewrite my earlier posts - just redirected folks here. I wrote to County Attorney Bill Montgomery last week because it appeared from court records as if the assault case against Alan Keesee had been dropped at the initiative of his office. My confusion, I guess. Montgomery got back to me pretty quickly asserting that the prosecution is moving forward nonetheless, and re-iterated the reason he didn't proceed with prosecuting either of those guys for abusing "vulnerable adults," as I'd been urging.

Frankly, I think if this had occurred in any other kind of institution treating psychiatric patients, the vulnerable adult statute would be invoked to raise the felony level and broaden the sentencing possibilities. But I honestly don't know the law well enough to ferret this all out myself, so I figured it was best to just let you hear the explanation straight from the county attorney.

My apologies for attributing anything less than professionalism to the folks working hard on these detention officer's prosecutions.

--email from Bill Montgomery's office, Thursday September 8, 2011--

From Bill Montgomery:

We were able to resolve the case by filing a Direct Complaint/Plea proceeding without having to go through the entire Preliminary Hearing/Trial process. So, while it looks like charges were dropped, we still proceeded with prosecution.

I can assure you that the resolution leads to the defendant no longer working in law enforcement, let alone detention.

I would also appreciate it if you would acknowledge that the goal of holding people in positions of responsibility for safely and securing handling inmates accountable when they break the law is being met. We may disagree about the best way to accomplish that but my commitment to that goal remains. Also, I previously explained to you that the basis for the crimes committed was not the mental status of the victim but the fact that he was restrained. That was the direct set of facts. If we had charged the Class 2 Felonies there is a high likelihood that we would have failed to secure convictions. It was more important to me to charge the appropriate crime so we could ensure convictions.

Thank you for your continued advocacy,

Bill Montgomery

Maricopa County Attorney

301 W. Jefferson, 8th Floor

Phoenix, AZ 85003

602-506-1260

Brutalizing the mentally ill: Gerster's Sentencing.

CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATION HERE

Maricopa County Courthouse (W. Jefferson / 3rd Ave)
March 2011

Went to Kevin Gerster's pre-trial this AM, only to learn that he entered a plea last week to three counts: a misdemeanor for tampering with criminal records (he gave a buddy the address of a guy his ex-girlfriend was dating, and the buddy stalked and assaulted them both), as well as two aggravated assault charges for beating up his mentally ill prisoners (both are just class 6 felonies, though - charging him for assaulting "vulnerable adults", as I strongly urged the prosecutors to do, would have made it a class 2 felony).


Here's what really troubles me, though: even though he's a repeat offender of violent crimes against vulnerable persons, they let him off the hook with "non-dangerous/ non-repetitive" designations on his assaults - how can aggravated assault be "non-dangerous"????


That favor may well be what helps him avoid prison for all this. It sure minimizes his responsibility for hurting people repeatedly - the only reason he can't keep doing so is because he got caught, not because he found God or something. That's one sign of a sociopath - that and the sheer absence of a conscience.


This is all so disappointing - I really thought Prichard and her boss Bill Montgomery had what it took to really get justice in this case. That guy's going to walk with probation and community service, no doubt - despite violating all of our trust, as well as the welfare of his prisoners. God only knows how traumatized his victims still are - they'd have every reason to be afraid of the uniform of the state, now, too - as do the rest of us.


Here's Gerster's sentencing date; be there if you can:

10/21/2011 at 10:30 a.m.,
Judge William Brotherton Jr.
201 W. Jefferson St, PHX
Maricopa County Superior Court

Look for this provision to be pulled out at sentencing, so he has a chance of getting out of there without any felony charges at all (and could therefore become a rent-a-cop at your local high school or mall)

Shame on the MCAO for not prosecuting him for abusing vulnerable adults...

-------------------------

13-604. Class 6 felony; designation

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, if a person is convicted of any class 6 felony not involving a dangerous offense and if the court, having regard to the nature and circumstances of the crime and to the history and character of the defendant, is of the opinion that it would be unduly harsh to sentence the defendant for a felony, the court may enter judgment of conviction for a class 1 misdemeanor and make disposition accordingly or may place the defendant on probation in accordance with chapter 9 of this title and refrain from designating the offense as a felony or misdemeanor until the probation is terminated. The offense shall be treated as a felony for all purposes until such time as the court may actually enter an order designating the offense a misdemeanor. This subsection does not apply to any person who stands convicted of a class 6 felony and who has previously been convicted of two or more felonies.

B. If a crime or public offense is punishable in the discretion of the court by a sentence as a class 6 felony or a class 1 misdemeanor, the offense shall be deemed a misdemeanor if the prosecuting attorney files any of the following:

1. An information in superior court designating the offense as a misdemeanor.

2. A complaint in justice court or municipal court designating the offense as a misdemeanor within the jurisdiction of the respective court.

3. A complaint, with the consent of the defendant, before or during the preliminary hearing amending the complaint to charge a misdemeanor.

Mentally ill prisoner abuse: Keesee walks.

CORRECTIONS/CLARIFICATION HERE

Looks like the Maricopa County Attorney's Office doesn't think it can make a case stick against former MCSO detention officer Alan Keesee, despite the Youtube video we all saw of him assaulting William Franklin Hughes in the psychiatric wing of the Lower Buckeye Jail while the kid was fully-restrained. They must just not care how brutalized we are - I should have seen this coming after they sent the Game Boy kid in to handle Gerster's prosecution.














This is really pathetic. Talk about being soft on violent crime.

This means that Keesee will probably be reinstated at the jail, of course - with seven months back pay. No labor in this state has rights unless it's a cop of some kind, it seems. All the guards who helped kill Marcia Powell got their jobs back, too...and the MCAO didn't have the guts to prosecute them, either - that was on Rick Romley's watch. What does it take in this place to get justice for the poor when we get beaten up or killed by law enforcement officers?

Meanwhile, the county attorney's office prosecuted William - despite his mental illness, the benign nature of the charges against him, and the beating he took in the jail by both Gerster and Keesee. I'm pretty confused about the direction of the MCAO now - I thought Bill Montgomery was against such abusive prosecutions of people who - but for the symptoms of a psychiatric disability - would not be in the criminal justice system. I was so sure he was I wished him a hug.

William was so impaired when he was arrested for indecent exposure that the judge who arriagned him ordered a rule 11 hearing and refused to release him - which is when he was beaten, disturbingly. You'd think if no one else was outraged about Keesee being let off, that judge who put him in their care would be. I sure am.

Guess victims in custody really don't have any rights in Maricopa County, pre-trial or otherwise - especially the most vulnerable and seriously mentally ill.

You all know who to complain to about this.
Don't just leave it as a conversation between him and me.

Bill Montgomery
Maricopa County Attorney
301 W. Jefferson St.
Phoenix, AZ 85003
602-506-3411



Original Court Minutes

The MCAO and violent Blue Crime...

This is the kind of thing that leads me to worry about what they'll let Gerster and Keesee off with...they're all so "tough on crime" unless it's perpetrated by one of them, it seems. This guy will probably even be allowed to get a security guard job when released.

Now compare what that cop got for those armed robberies to what this latest tagger to be charged is facing. There's something wrong with this picture.

POLICE BRUTALITY: This is also what resistance looks like.

Montgomery's Follow-up Response HERE

(SEPTEMBER 2011)

MCSO Brutality update: Kevin Gerster and William Hughes

UPDATE (10/21/11):

Gerster's Sentencing

-----------------

NEXT HEARING:

Comprehensive Trial Management Conference
June 9, 2011 - 8:45am
Maricopa County Central Court Building
(W. Jefferson St.)
Judge Verdin.


Maricopa County Courthouse
May 18, 2011

The Comprehensive Trial Management Conference was to be held today (May 18, 2011), but it was pushed back and everything that occurred was done up at the bench, where the public couldn't witness it or determine what was said in the transcripts...I suspect because I had been protesting loudly outside before the hearing, confronting Gerster when he arrived (my taxes paid his salary, after all - and he hurt people in violation of my trust). All I was able to catch Judge Verdin saying to his attorney, who requested that they approach to discuss the case, was that "this is a delicate situation."

Damn straight it is. There are a lot of us mad as hell about what Gerster and fellow officer Alan Keesee did. Gerster and Keesee have more rights as perpetrators of assault than William Hughes has as their victims do now. As some of you may recall, if we, as citizens, are victimized while in custody, we're excluded from the constitutional protections and rights we have when crimes are perpetrated against us in the community, effectively silencing our voice in court proceedings, rights to restitution, etc. if a cop is the perpetrator.

I believe they are buying time for people to forget what Gerster did to us, the rest of his "victims"; chances seem very good that the Maricopa County Attorney is about to offer him a deal. The upcoming trial was cancelled in anticipation of a deal being reached beforehand.

Please contact Bill Montgomery's office and urge that this officer's entire prosecution be made visible and transparent to the public, as he violated us all with the abuse of his office and the assaults on his prisoners.

Remind him that Gerster assaulted at least two "VULNERABLE adults" in custody (making him a repeat, violent offender), and could have been charged with class 2 (not the lower class 6) felonies for that, and must not be allowed to walk with anything less than felony charges and prison time if they give him a deal.

Put your concerns in writing ASAP to:

Mr. Bill Montgomery
Maricopa County Attorney
301 W. Jefferson St. PHX 85003

I'd appreciate copies of your letters to post publicly. Send them to:

Peggy Plews / PO Box 20494 /PHX, AZ 85036

Please also express your continued outrage over the conduct of MCSO officers, and your desire to see justice served, to:

Editor, Arizona Republic / P.O. Box 1950 /Phoenix, AZ 85001

Finally, I looked up the status of William Franklin Hughes III's case. The MCAO still appears to be prosecuting him for the petty offenses (like criminal damage and indecent exposure - most likely secondary to the symptoms of his mental illness) that landed him in Gerster's and Keesee's pre-trial "care" in the psychiatric wing of the county jail in the first place...he was even ordered to undergo competency exams by the judge before they would proceed any further. I don't understand why he's going on trial, given what Montgomery had to say recently about the need to divert these folks from prosecution in the first place. I just discovered that his trial was supposed to begin this am, which I missed.

You would think the MCAO would recognize the beatings he received in jail as punishment enough - and poor William was out of his mind when he got pounded on by those guys. So, folks, please also ask Mr. Montgomery what the deal is with William's prosecution. Those are our tax dollars he's eating up in this unnecessary and cruel endeavor to punish a young man who was already terribly traumatized in custody over "crimes" that really hurt no one else...




Maricopa County Courthouse
(3rd St/W. Jefferson, PHX)
March 11, 2011

APR 26: Montgomery and the MI in CJ Roundtable

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and I will both be on this roundtable this month. Note that it is not to be adversarial. I've heard that he is somewhat understanding of the struggles of people with mental illness, so perhaps we will find places where we agree.


For more in the criminalization and incarceration of the mentally ill in Arizona, see this post on Shannon Palmer.


Also see this report from the National Sheriff's Association and the Treatment Advocacy Center: for every one person with a mental illness we hospitalize in Arizona, we put almost ten behind bars. There's something really wrong with that.

Shannon Len Palmer, 40. Homicide victim: ASPC-Lewis (September 2010)
Sentenced to three years in prison by Maricopa Superior Court Judge Connie Contes
for climbing a utility tower in a thunderstorm to be closer to God...

---------------

Roundtable Forum

Incarceration of the Mentally Ill:
Punitive or Restorative Justice?


Tuesday, April 26, 2011
5:30-7:30pm


Gregory Sales exhibit: "It's Not Just Black and White"


ASU Art Museum

10th St and Mill Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281

Sponsored by David's Hope
and the Arizona Mental Health and Criminal Justice Coalition

"Please join us in this non-adversarial forum for a mediated discussion of the care and treatment of those with mental illness as their lives intersect with the criminal justice system. The goal is to bring together individuals with diverse perspectives and experiences, from the advocates for increasing rehabilitation for mentally ill offenders to those who feel the criminal justice system in place in Arizona is working well..."

For more information, Contact May Lou Brncik at David's Hope at 602-774-4382.

Visitors using ASU museum parking spaces must sign in at the front desk in the lobby of the Nelson Fine Arts Center.

--This is a great assembly of the people who need to come together on these issues--


Roundtable Forum

Incarceration of the Mentally Ill: Punitive or Restorative Justice

April 26 2011

ASU Art Museum 5:30pm

Roundtable Participant List:

Sue Ellen Allen Author and Executive Director, Gina’s Team

Norma Brasda SMI Unit Supervisor, Maricopa County Adult Probation

Kelly Carbello Clinical Supervisor, New Horizons Counseling Service

David Choate Associate Director, Center for Violence Prevention and Community Safety, ASU

Sean Connolly Lieutenant Phoenix Police Department, South Mountain Precinct

Shelley Curran Director, Court Advocacy, Magellan Health Services

Brian Freudenthal Sergeant, Phoenix Police Department

Donna Hamm Founder, Middle Ground Prison Reform

Ken Jacuzzi ADA Advocate, Author, Business Coach

Patti Jones Registered Nurse, Advocate

Bill Montgomery Maricopa County Attorney

John Newson Advocate

Dawn Noggle Mental Health Director, Maricopa County Correctional Health Services

Peggy Plews Editor, Arizona Prison Watch

John Rundle Recovery Support Specialist, Stand Together and Recover

Michael Runningwolf Advocate, NAMI AZ

Ben Shaw Mental Health Director, Arizona Department of Corrections

Rebekah Trexler SMI Unit Supervisor, Maricopa County Adult Probation

This forum was created in partnership with the Arizona Mental Health and Criminal Justice Coalition. Special thanks to Kathy Bashor and Cynthia Henry, ADBHS Office of Individual and Family Affairs, for their participation as moderators. Please note that our participant’s comments are in no way intended to represent the policies of their respective organizations. Members of the Roundtable are taking part in this discussion solely as individuals representing themselves.

---------------------

David's Hope is an education and advocacy agency designed to provide people living with mental illness, and all those involved in their care, the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the behavioral health and criminal justice systems. David’s Hope teaches people how to advocate for themselves and others by empowering them with information, training, resources, and mentoring. Through education and mentoring we hope to create understanding in the community of the issues facing those living with mental illness involved in the Criminal Justice System.

"The mission of David’s Hope is to increase collaboration between the Mental Health and Criminal Justice Systems, to promote restoration and provide support for the mental health needs of those within the Criminal Justice system.”

Kevin Gerster's Arraignment

UPDATE (10/21/11): Gerster's Sentencing



--------------


UPDATE/CORRECTIONS
HERE

(september 2011)

------------------------

I made it down to the Maricopa County Courthouse this morning where Kevin Gerster was arraigned. The courtroom was late opening up, though, and there were 67 people on the morning's docket - the first half of whom were in custody and appearing from jail via video-camera. It was interesting to see that the only defendant not being represented by a public defender of some kind was Gerster - who is being very well-represented, no doubt, by David Cantor.

Before court commenced, the prosecuting attorney asked if any victims were present. None stepped forward, so I got up and introduced myself as representing the interests of families of people with serious mental illness, explaining that I was there to observe Gerster's indictment. I don't know if she was aware of my communication with Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery or not, but she seemed somewhat annoyed with that, saying "it is what it is," then turned back to her table, effectively dismissing me.

Gerster entered the courtroom when I did, along with 3 companions - one of whom looked like he could be his brother. While hanging out in the lobby before the doors opened, Gerster looked relaxed, chatting and even laughing aloud with his lawyer. All I could think of was him assaulting those two mentally impaired, physically restrained prisoners for what appeared to be no reason but sadistic pleasure, and how much I wanted to see that guy sweating this out in chains and stripes with a court-appointed attorney, instead. That's not very abolitionist of me, I must confess, but honest.

As court commenced and Commissioner Lynch began to work his way through the prisoners in the order they were listed, I thought I was in for another hour or so, and ran out to drop more change in my meter. Big mistake. Needless to say, by the time I made it back through security and up to the 8th floor of the East Court House, Gerster was done and gone. No surprise, I guess - since his attorney was there only for him, my bet is that the judge called him up soon after I stepped out so Cantor could make it to his next appearance.

Privilege has its perks.

Fortunately KPHO was paying attention. Gerster plead "not guilty" to all charges and it was probably over in less than 2 minutes. He isn't due in court again until his pretrial conference on February 10 at 8:15am.

I'll post any updates here, but there likely won't be much more news on him unless the MCAO decides to drop one or more charges. I've decided to place a widget near the top of this page, too, with upcoming court dates of interest - a lot of cops here are criminals, it seems. This could drag on for a year before there's any trial or resolution, so I'll take more responsibility for organizing people to attend hearings.


William Hughes, one of Gerster's victims, is better-represented now, by the way - I believe through the Homeless Legal Assistance Project, where Craig Logdson mentors law students, and Ian Fischer is also somehow affiliated with. They appear to have sprung him even though he's facing a Rule 11 competency hearing in January. I don't know his current circumstances, but at least the kid won't spend Christmas in Joe Arpaio's cold, abusive jail. Frankly, I think his judge should just throw the charges out now and let him get on with his life; that guy has already endured enough.


No news on when/if William's other assailant, Alan Keesee, will be prosecuted. Millions of people have probably viewed that video by now, but as far as I know they're still "investigating" - and he's still on "paid administrative leave" (i.e. extended vacation).

MCSO Thug Prosecution: Let the Sunshine In.

I'm sorry, Mr. Montgomery, but I'm not impressed that these are all just Class 6 felonies - knowingly and intentionally abusing a vulnerable adult like William Hughes is a class 2 felony. I may not sound like much of an abolitionist, but right now I'm not sure how else to protect prisoners with psychiatric and developmental disabilities. What you do with these guys will have major implications. The rampant criminalization (AZ has 10 times as many mentally ill in jails/prisons than hospitals) and victimization of people with mental illness in this state is profoundly troubling. If real justice here is ever served, it isn't served to them.

So, I'm going to continue to encourage people to contact you about prosecuting Gerster and Keesee under that vulnerable adult statute. Why do we have those laws if not to prevent custodial agents from abusing disabled and elderly people? I bet a lot of cops don't even know it could apply to them. I'll hold off on calling the Department of Justice in on this one, though - they already have their hands full with Arpaio's garbage, anyway. Besides, I really want to see you do this right yourself. We desperately need to know that someone in law enforcement here is really on the side of the people who get beat down the most.

I can't find out enough about Flores to say if he was restrained in the psych wing because he was high, drunk, mentally ill, or just plain "mouthy", as Sheridan put it, but how much more vulnerable can you be than to be strapped down naked in four-point restraints while the guy with the keys to your cell is breaking your jaw? 

Why do they have to strip mentally impaired people of all their clothes when they're putting them in 4-points, anyway? They certainly aren't going to hang themselves in that position. That's abusive in and of itself - those folks are already traumatized. Many of us are survivors of sexual assault as it is, and the MCSO is just humiliating people on top of terrifying them. Please bring that up when you have a good opportunity. It's my understanding that you're someone who has compassion for us.

Furthermore, how could either Gerster's or Keesee's conduct be anything but an intentional attempt to inflict pain and injury? It sure wasn't necessary to bring their prisoners under control or protect the prisoner, themselves, or others from harm.

And what about the release of that former prisoner's address resulting in Gerster's buddy assaulting his ex-wife and her lover with a deadly weapon? Why is Gerster not sitting in jail right now with him? That guy is a violent, repeat offender.

In any event, how is giving Gerster three or even six years in prison for repeatedly assaulting helpless, vulnerable people when he was in a position of absolute power and trust supposed to protect public safety or ensure justice for all? By all means, though, please don't give him a deal for something less than a felony and let him walk with probation. He's hurt too many of us already - as a member of the public whose trust he violated, he hurt me, too.

Nevertheless, I do appreciate that you're at least charging the guy for all counts of assault - and that you announced when his next court date is so the rest of us can be there...justice requires that kind of transparency.

Now please go after Keesee, too. He just smashed William's head into the table for the fun of it.

To everyone else out there:

Note that the next court date for Gerster is supposed to be on December 23 (probably first thing in the AM at the Central Court Building on W. Jefferson). I don't know that a show of citizens opposing police brutality will make a difference, but I plan to be as visible and vocal as possible about justice being done for the victims of these men. For those who have been trying to find out about both Gerster's and Keesee's court dates through the Maricopa Superior Court website, it's been slow to update and I don't think they're too enthusiastic about making that info public - though their court appearances should be as publicly available as the rest of ours would be. 

So, if their appearance dates aren't posted on the web, try calling the criminal court clerk's office - they're pretty helpful: 602-506-8575. Call at a little after 8am every day and be ready to go - a lot of hearings are scheduled before 9am. The case number they gave me last week is #PF 2010-162681-001. That may have changed, though (in fact, he should have a few cases, I think), so when you call the court, if they can't find the case number, tell them his birthday was in October, 1975.

****Thank you, by the way, to those MCSO jail staff who reported these two. I saw some white coats looking on as Gerster was punching and kicking William Hughes - I'm about to post on the medical neglect at the MCSO, but realize that some of you are actually trying to do the right thing there. Please stay and keep it up. We'll send help as soon as possible.***

 

Here's how to reach the Maricopa County Attorney, Bill Montgomery:

602-506-3411

------------From the Maricopa County Attorney Office's website-----------

Former MCSO Detention Officer Charged With Assault, Computer Tampering

PHOENIX, AZ (December 10, 2010) – Former Maricopa County Sheriff’s Detention Officer Kevin Michael Gerster (DOB 10/23/1975) has been charged with a total of five counts of aggravated assault and two counts of computer tampering in connection with three different incidents, one of which involved the videotaped beating of a Maricopa County Jail inmate. The charges are detailed in three indictments and will be pursued as three separate cases.

Gerster is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, both Class 6 felonies, for physically assaulting inmate Miguel Flores on June 5th, 2010 while Flores was bound or otherwise physically restrained. In a separate indictment, Gerster is charged with two Class 6 felony counts of unauthorized release or access of a criminal history record on September 9th, 2010. A third indictment charges Gerster with three Class 6 felony counts of aggravated assault in an incident involving Maricopa County Jail inmate William Hughes which was recorded on video and widely disseminated on the Internet. Gerster resigned from the Sheriff’s Office earlier this month.

“Today’s indictments should send a clear and unambiguous message that no one is above the law and that everyone, even those entrusted with enforcing the law, must and will be held accountable,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “The incidents alleged in these indictments stand in stark contrast to the hard and honorable work the overwhelming majority of our uniformed law enforcement officers perform each and every day to protect the citizens of Maricopa County,” he added.

Gerster’s next court appearance is scheduled 

for December 23rd.