Name: Sheriff’s Office says accusations about Broward County jail are unsubstantiated, misleading and false
Brand: sun-sentinel.com
SKU: sun-sentinel-com-8
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Sheriff’s Office says accusations about Broward County jail are unsubstantiated, misleading and false

preview

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony’s general counsel is emphatically denying allegations from the county public defender that jail inmates are being mistreated and concerns about the coronavirus are being ignored. In a blistering letter, Broward Sheriff’s Office general counsel Terrence Lynch told Public Defender Howard Finkelstein and his chief assistant, Gordon Weekes, that their claims amounted to no more than “unsubstantiated, misleading, or outright false allegations which you apparently made no effort to investigate.” Advertisement Lynch’s response, dated Wednesday and released by the agency on Thursday, was a reply to what was “very disturbing information regarding the treatment of persons in the Broward County Jail who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.” Weekes said there were a lot of assertions in the Lynch’s response – but specifics about critical issues he and Finkelstein said they were hearing from represented by the Public Defender’s Office were lacking. Weekes questioned “the assertion that allegations were ‘misleading’ and ‘patently false’ when nothing of the allegations they attempted to refute gave any specifics.” Some of the responses “suggest that they recognize the veracity of the issues that we raised with them.” They said guards were ignoring inmates for fear of being exposed to the virus, coronavirus testing of staff and inmates is insufficient, and quarantined inmates are getting inadequate attention. “Fear is rampant in the jail and aggression is escalating,” they wrote. “Without testing, everyone is afraid and suspicious.” Lynch said he was offering “a truthful and factual account in response.” He labeled as “patently false" the charges that inmates in quarantine units are not regularly checked by guards or medical staff, that inmates are blocking windows or toilets to get attention, that requests for water and care are being ignored, and that deputies aren’t making appropriate checks on inmates because they fear contracting coronavirus. The full picture about two allegations is unclear. As it happens Get updates on the coronavirus pandemic and other news as it happens with our free breaking news email alerts. You are now following this newsletter. Though Lynch denied that inmates are blocking toilets to attract attention, he said that “if an inmate intentionally floods a cell, security staff are left with no choice but to shut off the water to the unit temporarily until the flooding is brought under control” Advertisement Finkelstein and Weekes had said they were told one guard pointed a Taser toward the chest of an inmate known to have heart trouble and another pointed a Taser at a different inmate’s head. Lynch didn’t precisely address those allegations. “Flooding of cells is a security matter that requires a security response. The purpose of displaying a Taser is to create a visual warning as a deterrent before actual usage in order to gain compliance with lawful orders and to avoid having to resort to actual physical force.” In the instances they cited, Lynch said, “the display of a Taser had its intended deterrent effect.” Weekes pointed to the way Lynch addressed the questions about inmates causing floods to get attention and whether guards responded by threatening them with Tasers. “The way they responded seemed to try to deflect from the underlying issues: Whether they were using Tasers or whether they were using force because of anxiety related to COVID-19 in the jail,” Weekes said. “To me it seems like an attempt at misdirection, and misdirection from the ultimate issue, and that’s are people being tased in the facility and whether they are being treated appropriately." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Next Story Advertisement Advertisement

Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony’s general counsel is emphatically denying allegations from the county public defender that jail inmates are being mistreated and concerns about the coronavirus are being ignored. In a blistering letter, Broward Sheriff’s Office general counsel Terrence Lynch told Public Defender Howard Finkelstein and his chief assistant, Gordon Weekes, that their claims amounted to no more than “unsubstantiated, misleading, or outright false allegations which you apparently made no effort to investigate.” Advertisement Lynch’s response, dated Wednesday and released by the...

Sheriff’s Office says accusations about Broward County jail are unsubstantiated, misleading and false

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS