MCSO Jails: Graves v. Arpaio winding down.

Disregard the old post below - Here's the October 1, 2014 UPDATE on Graves v Arpaio: 
 

Judge Wake re: Graves v Arpaio: jail medical care still sucks.

"Time to Indict"
National Chalk the Police Day,
4th Avenue Jail, Phoenix
October 1, 2011

Unfortunately, there are more than a few minor issues with the county jails that remain unresolved. There continues to be a culture of abuse among MCSO officers and a larger CJ system which minimizes such behavior, a poison which seeps from the top on down. The conditions in the jails today - particularly the medical neglect and the abuse that the mentally ill have been subjected to - are still unacceptable. Even I didn't get my medications in jail.

Sadly, that won't be likely to change much until Arpaio is out of there and someone who respects human and civil rights is in. We'll see if this electorate has it in them to do better than him next time around.

------------from the AZ Republic------------

34-year Maricopa County jails suit nears end

Last issues don't need hearing, attorneys say

by JJ Hensley

Oct. 23, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
 

The inmates, jails and sheriff have all changed since a class-action lawsuit was filed over county jail conditions 34 years ago, but ongoing concerns kept the lawsuit alive.

That legal action, which over time changed the way Maricopa County holds and treats inmates, appears finally to be coming to an end - if the Sheriff's Office can attend to a few minor issues in the next few months.
Attorneys for inmates and the Sheriff's Office scheduled to present their cases to a federal judge last week in the decades-old fight canceled the hearings after lawyers on both sides agreed they were close enough to resolving a final few issues that they did not need to go before a judge.

"If, in fact, we do what we intend to do, it should be done - no hearing, nothing," said Jack MacIntyre, a sheriff's chief deputy.

It would be a milestone. For years, county jails have been subject to court-ordered oversight to ensure that inmate conditions improved. While a separate piece of the lawsuit targeting Correctional Health Services - a taxpayer-funded agency that provides constitutionally mandated health care to inmates - will continue under court oversight, the fact that the rest of the Sheriff's Office's jail operations could emerge from oversight is significant.

If the Sheriff's Office can, by early March 2012, increase the caloric intake of inmates, address overcrowding in a holding facility and prove there is proper sanitation, the agency will emerge from court oversight. Those requirements were part of an amended judgment issued by a federal judge.

"We're pleased to see that the sheriff is agreeing to cooperate and resolve and come into compliance with the second amended judgment," said Sharad Desai, an attorney representing the inmates.

Advocates say it has been a long time coming.

Three inmates held in the First Avenue Jail brought the original lawsuit against then-Sheriff Jerry Hill in 1977, asking a federal court to intervene over conditions they claimed were "degrading, inhuman, punitive, unhealthy and dangerous."

Court documents and news reports from the time depict jails that appear brutal compared with the spartan facilities Sheriff Joe Arpaio now proudly operates.

The unsentenced inmates complained in court filings of cold food that could contain glass or spit and meat that was sometimes uncooked or dropped on the floor and served for dinner; of rodents and insects living in 136-square-foot cells with up to eight inmates who weren't allowed to shower for days; and of going days, weeks, even months without seeing the sun or getting the chance for recreation.

Patrick Schiffer was a young attorney at the time working in a Community Legal Services office when he took the case in 1979, and while he calls the case the most fun he has had as a lawyer, he also recalls the horrid conditions.

"They had 8-by-21-foot cells with eight people and a toilet at the end, so only about three guys could stand up at a time and they spent 24 hours a day in there because the day rooms between the cells were stacked with mattresses," he said.

Schiffer's work on the case also made him skeptical about the county's commitment to change the jail system. Correctional Health Services' ongoing court oversight and Arpaio's inclination to make life hard on inmates leave Schiffer wondering about the effect of the court orders to improve conditions over the years.
"That's been the problem from Day One of the judgment," Schiffer said. "They don't follow what they promise to do. They do some of it."

The condition of jails in Maricopa County was not unique at the time.

In the early 1970s, federal judges began getting involved in cases about prison conditions at the state and county levels, and what they found was shocking, said Michele Deitch, an attorney and University of Texas professor who served as a court-appointed monitor in Texas prisons.

By the mid-1980s, nearly 40 states were operating all or parts of their prison and jail systems under some sort of court order, she said.

"A lot of these problems were invisible for a long time. I think there were abuses in these facilities for many, many years. A lot of it was sort of swept under the rug," Deitch said. "When all the testimony about these conditions started coming out, they couldn't be ignored. So judges started imposing remedies to fix these conditions."

Many of the cases, including Maricopa County's, took decades to resolve because it took years to get funding, build new facilities and change the culture of jail systems to meet the court-ordered remedies, she said.

A federal judge first issued guidelines on legal compliance for Maricopa County jails in 1981. That judgment was amended in 1995. Then in 2001, the Sheriff's Office tried to terminate the judgment under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, which states that decrees on jail conditions are up for dismissal after two years unless inmates can show their constitutional rights are being denied.

That led to U.S. District Judge Neil Wake's 2008 ruling that unconstitutional conditions persisted in the county's jails. Wake issued a second amended judgment, which the Sheriff's Office is now trying to prove it has complied with.

Despite the long-running legal battle and the millions spent to litigate the case, MacIntyre said the lawsuit has had a lasting impact on jail operations.

It played a role in the county's decision to seek funding for new jail facilities, including the Lower Buckeye and Fourth Avenue jails, and caused detention officials to closely examine the way they treat and house inmates, he said.

"There's certainly been some benefit from that. But it's time," MacIntyre said. "The system has benefited from it, but it's time to return all the management back to the Sheriff's Office."

Brutalizing the mentally ill: Gerster's Sentencing.

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

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

UPDATE/CORRECTIONS HERE (september 2011)

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's real BS. It's so he can get out without a felony in the end - just probation and a misdemeanor, if he behaves (see the law below)


That favor by the prosecutor 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... and this plea they gave him is hardly justice for those of us who were victimized by the breaking of our trust - on our dime - much less for the guy whose jaw he broke.

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

Arizona Revised Statutes
Title 13: Criminal Code

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.

Gerster Courtwatch: The People are not a Party.

Just got this minute entry today from the Maricopa County Superior Court clerk's office, acknowledging my letter to Judge Verdin (et al) about the prosecution of Kevin Gerster. It was kind of them to at least mail notice to me that our opinions on this matter are really irrelevant. I guess the People aren't a party to the violation of our trust by law enforcement officers, according to the courts - the state is representing its own interests, then, not ours. Tell me how this is a system of "justice" again?

Courtwatching The Cops: Kevin Gerster June 2011

UPDATE (10/20/11): Gerster's Sentencing


CORRECTION/CLARIFICATION

Several other community members showed up for MCSO Lower Buckeye Jail officer Kevin Gerster's Final Trial Management Conference in Judge Verdin's court yesterday morning, anticipating that he may enter a plea to avoid the humiliation of trial and certainty of a lengthy prison term upon conviction - especially in light of that video tape and the public attention back on him. All they did was put off the trial and buy time to negotiate over a plea deal.

After dropping charges against victim William Hughes' other assailant, MCSO Detention Officer Alan Keesee (whom I intend to ask the feds to prosecute under Civil Rights law, since AZ doesn't want to hold him responsible), Bill Montgomery's office will look pretty foolish if they don't insist on a stiff sentence for Gerster - though they were awfully friendly with him yesterday as we were all leaving court - I swear I even saw the county attorney now handling the case, Rebekah Prichard, make eye contact with him and graciously say "thank you".

About her, I was glad to see her on the job, I must say - Game Boy was there and I was prepared to light into him if the plea deal sold out the People's interests in public safety by condoning the abuse of mentally ill prisoners, but as soon as I made my presence known to him, Prichard made her responsibility for Gerster's prosecution known to me - though maybe it's been her's all along. I'd appreciate any thoughts folks have on her - I don't have much to go on, but she's definitely more aggressive than the guy I'd been watching handle this thus far.

Maybe Prichard asked for some time if the case is new to her - I don't know. The fact they took this all back in to chambers once Gerster's attorney arrived concerns me, though - I want to know what they've offered him. Most of all I want to see the trial - I can't begin to speculate as to how can he justify what he did.

Maybe he or Keesee somehow managed to get that MCSO youtube footage thrown out of court in a secret move. I wish the MCAO was being more forthcoming and transparent about all of this. We really need more members of the community to call and inquire about their intentions - we, collectively, were victimized by Gerster, too: he brutally assaulted at least two fully-restrained prisoners posing no threat whatsoever in the psych ward of the jail, betraying his duty and our trust - all while on the taxpayer's dime. That's pretty bad as far as criminal deeds go.

I don't know why they aren't prosecuting the cops who witnessed Gerster's first recorded assault but didn't report it, too. They're on the videos. If they did report promptly and the MCSO just dragged their feet investigating their own, it would seem as if a substantial claim can be made against the county for the assault on Hughes being a result of willful indifference to human life at a level beyond Gerster and his own abusive pathology. In any case, it seems there was a conspiracy of silence that permitted him to continue working and abusing people for five months after breaking Michael Flores' jaw while he was strapped naked down to a table.

The MCSO tolerates this kind of treatment at the highest levels, apparently - Sheriff Joe's new right hand man, Jerry Sheridan, suggested that Gerster's victims even asked for it when he said one "must have been mouthing off ", thus provoking Gerster's assault. I think that was Hughes he was talking about, who had his hands cuffed behind his back, his arms restrained by three other guards, his feet in shackles, his head in a bag (remember Abu Ghraib?), and nothing but underwear on when Gerster stomped on his neck, punched him repeatedly in the head, kicked him, and (off-camera) slammed his face into his cell wall.

I suspect William's single biggest crime precipitating his victimization, actually, was probably laughing and smiling too much. He was ordered by the judge that day to undergo a Rule 11 competency hearing, which presumable had something to do with why he was put in the psych wing of the jail to begin with. Of all places, you'd think they'd be a little kinder and gentler there as a rule. No wonder it takes so long to restore people to competency - they're subjected to constant terror and trauma, witnessing this kind of abuse go unpunished all too often.

So, that's the outline of Gerster's crimes, for those of you who missed it the first time. How's that for a noble officer of the law, folks? When I was a kid, I thought that badge and uniform made them all heroes - what a crock. The empowerment of creeps with guns, badges, and way too much authority to abuse is a public safety threat in and of itself. I'd think the other cops would be harder on people like Gerster and Keesee than even I am, for what guys like them them all look like - people who protect and serve pigs and thugs before the public that employs them. But they threw Chrisman a barbecue when he got sacked for killing Danny Rodriguez, so what do I understand about cops?


Anyway, as I said there's a plea on the table for Gerster, but I don't know what it is and the court wouldn't discuss it openly. Judge Verdin is convinced that both parties are trying to work towards an agreement (UGH) in good faith instead of go to trial, but frankly, I think justice in this case demands a public trial - I hope the county prosecutor goes all the way. It's all been put off for two more months, though, for some reason. I suspect that's what the prosecution thanked Gerster for agreeing to - I just feel like they're stalling hoping the attention to his case wanes and they can slide something clearly unacceptable by us unnoticed. It wont and they can't. But, I'm in the dark on all that, so take that for what it's worth and contact the county attorney's office yourself for their answers.

Maricopa County Attorney

301 W. Jefferson St.

Phoenix, AZ 85003

Victims' Services
(602) 506-8522

I think the public that entrusts our most vulnerable citizens to the MCSO's care - at great expense to us - is a legitimate victim, but we may have to fight to get anyone else to agree. There's a reason they are called "public servants", though - they should be held to answer to us when they betray our confidence and trust.



Here are Gerster's upcoming court dates. Look for him to enter a plea, though, so don't wait until August to register your concerns. If it's a deal that Montgomery is about to be embarrassed by us about, they may just take it off the table and turn up the heat on this guy. I haven't seen him begin to break a sweat, and he hasn't spent a night in jail pending trial. He must already think he's home free. I bet he's a security guard somewhere already...

Maricopa County Superior Court

(click here for updated records search)

Central Court Building (CCB)
201 W. Jefferson
Phoenix, AZ. 85003-2243
[view map]

Court Administration: (602) 506-3204

Final Trial Management Conference: August 8, 2011 8:45 AM (Verdin)

Trial start date: August 15, 2011 8am (Verdin)

Bill Montgomery: Please Protect the Mentally Ill Victims of the MCSO.

I've said my piece on this, and will be dropping off a letter about it to the county attorney this week. I hope others will as well (here's the link to email him)...

---------------------from the PHX New Times-------------

MCSO Detention Officer Involved in Jail Beat Downs Not Charged by County Attorney -- Yet. Case Being Reviewed

By James King, Tue., Dec. 7 2010

The Maricopa County detention officer seen beating two inmates in the psych ward at one of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's jails has not been charged with a crime -- yet, the Maricopa County Superior Court announced this morning.

"Charges against MCSO Detention Officer Kevin Gerster were not filed by County Attorney's office. Preliminary Hearing was scratched and the case will be removed from the HP list unless new charges are filed," court spokeswoman Karen Arra says in an email to New Times.

Gerster was seen on tape stepping on the neck of a fully restrained inmate before punching him four times in the head. In another incident, he's seen punching another inmate as the inmate was fully restrained and laying naked in a jail cell.

In yet another incident, Gerster is believed to have used the jail database to get the address of a former inmate for a friend of his. The former inmate was dating Gerster's friend's estranged wife.

That friend of the deputy's, Dennis McCarty, was arrested shortly after he was given the address for allegedly assaulting his estranged wife -- and the ex-inmate -- with a box-cutter at the ex-inmate's Tempe home, the address to which he got from Gerster.

Jerry Cobb, spokesman for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office tells New Times the announcement from the Superior Court is a bit misleading.

"They make it sound like the case is being dropped," Cobb says. "That's an inaccurate statement."

Cobb says the case is being reviewed by prosecutors who will determine what -- if any -- charges will be filed against Gerster...

follow the link back to the PHX New Times for the rest...

MCSO Brutality and Sunbelt Justice: getting what we "deserve"?

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office detention officer Kevin Gerster, seen in video in the previous post assaulting already-restrained mentally ill prisoners made his $36,000 bond and is out of jail already.

Bet he didn't get cuffed, shackled, bagged and beaten by our beloved defenders of public trust and safety during his brief stay. His jaw probably wasn't broken by some thug with a badge while he was in 4-point restraints in the jail's psychiatric wing. I doubt anyone will be sending an armed intruder to his home to slice up him and his loved ones, either. He's actually pretty fortunate that most of us don't endorse his brand of "justice", and that the cyber-bullies who applauded him following the news articles about his crimes are all just as cowardly as he is.

Gerster's next court appearance is (Rescheduled for an unknown time and place - check for court records on both him and Keesee here, once they're posted, or call the criminal court office at 602-506-8575 if you don't find anything). Anyone who cares about real justice should be there to make sure that not only the cops, but also the courts and prosecutors are held accountable, too.

No word yet on when his colleague, officer Alan Keesee, will be arrested and arraigned. It does not appear as if any of the officers who witnessed the assaults and did nothing (or even those who helped restrain the victims) are being charged. Nor is any of the MCSO leadership, of course.

During his press conference about Gerster's arrest Arpaio seems to justify that conduct by stating "being a detention officer is a difficult job". The Lower Buckeye Jail's chief of custody, Jerry Sheridan, goes on to attribute the assault of the most recent victim to him "mouthing off". I don't believe there's ever a case in which violence is justified by mere insult - especially coming from a mentally ill person already bound in chains - but for some reason law enforcement officers seem particularly inclined to think it does.

The Maricopa County Sheriff Office's history of human rights' abuses suggests that Officer Gerster's disposition to repeatedly assault helpless people was fostered by his boss and the workplace culture Arpaio has cultivated there. Savagery and criminal misconduct by law enforcement agents of the MCSO is a well-established pattern and practice - one which this state's deluded electorate sadly seems to embrace.

For those of you who missed it, the PHX New Times did a thorough investigation in 2007 of how the MCSO treats prisoners: Inhumanity Has a Price. Read it and weep. I did. As of the time that article was written, the Maricopa County jails - under Arpaio - had already killed 11 prisoners in as many years as a direct result of violating their constitutional rights. For all you right-to-lifers who think the jails just house rapists and murderers who "deserve whatever they get": the death toll included the unborn child of a woman who hadn't even been convicted of anything yet.

By contrast, according to the MCSO website page dedicated to their fallen officers, "In the Line of Duty", since 1994 two officers died in car accidents and one died by gunshot. To hear the rhetoric that keeps justifying the massive build up of weaponry, the round-ups of "criminal aliens", and the brutality they display towards all those dangerous characters they throw in the local lock-up, you'd think the deputies were being slaughtered out there. According to the Goldwater Institute, Arpaio and his crew aren't even going after the real bad guys, though. It's actually the rest of the public that's in danger of getting killed by the MCSO.

Sunbelt Justice in the title of this post, by the way, is a reference to a very worthwhile read about crime and punishment in Arizona. Pick it up before the next legislative session, and recommend it to State Senator Ron Gould, the new chair of the AZ Senate Judiciary Committee. He has a lot to learn.

Again, if you care at all about the abuses of power occurring here, show up for Kevin Gerster's next hearing, stay tuned for Alan Keesee's, and show the rest of this community that at least some of us won't stand for it.

Maricopa County deputies brutalize prisoner.

Sheriff Joe's finest, doing what they do best to help mentally ill prisoners in the MCSO's Lower Buckeye Jail. The shocker is that other cops reported this, and two deputies have been charged with assault.

Imagine how many others the MCSO has brutalized in Sheriff Joe's jail that no one ever hears about - especially when it comes to the mentally disabled. By the time they get back into court (after nine months of being berated, beaten and "restored to competency") they plead guilty to whatever they've been charged with just to escape the kind of mental health "care" - even if it means years in prison for something they didn't do or weren't competent enough to be culpable. I see it happen far too often. That's coercive plea bargaining and the ultimate subversion of justice.

Unfortunately, according to the Arizona Constitution, the victim here doesn't even have the rights of other victims (which can include "entities" like neighborhood associations, corporations, etc.) because he's "in custody for an offense" (recently reaffirmed by the AZ Court of Appeals in this decision; which I was tipped off to by Eric Manch's blog). Likewise, if he was killed in this assault, his family wouldn't have the legal standing of other victims, either. It's no wonder cops here feel so free to violate their prisoners. That would seem to imply that we become less than human once a cop arrests us - whether he's the real criminal or not.

Whatever happened to the state's duty to protect "vulnerable adults"?

Shame on all the legislators, the state's prosecutors, and the victims' rights groups that endorsed that provision (and the voters, since it was put there by referendum). Frankly, I think curtailing prisoners' rights when they're victimized encourages this kind of behavior, and the state of Arizona should be sued by every victim of state violence for not extending equal protection to all persons, whether or not the state has them in custody. The AZ Constitution doesn't even differentiate between pre-trial detainees and the convicted when depriving those "in custody" of their constitutional rights as victims, so it treats the guilty and those presumed to be innocent (and too poor to post bail) the same.

More another time - I'm too disgusted and enraged. From the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to the Phoenix PD to the AZ Department of Corrections, there are way too many violent criminals on the loose here with badges and guns and keys. I hope our new county prosecutor and state Attorney General have the ethical foundation and guts to nail them all.

I guess we'll see...

This kind of sickness spreads from the top down.

MCSO jail prisoner violently assaulted.

What part of PREA doesn't Sheriff Joe and the MCSO Understand?


What is wrong with them?There's no reason this guy should have been sharing a cell with someone. That was hardly protective custody. He should also be in a hospital room where he can be reasonably safe and start to recover from the trauma of what just happened, not the jail setting. One or more cops or guards probably set him up in the first place.


PREA is the Prison Rape Elimination Act: If that's how this fellow was assaulted, then I hope the DOJ is all over this. Perhaps they will look at it as part of a CRIPA investigation: how many prisoners have been murdered, raped, or died of medical neglect on Arpaio's watch?


If you're thinking "maybe he deserved it", then you're a big part of the problem of perpetual violence in our society: the part that tolerates violent crime when you approve of how the victim is selected. Prisoners are dependent on the state for their safety, and in this guy's case, should be presumed innocent before trial. Even once convicted, it certainly shouldn't be up to other prisoners or even guards how one gets punished - that's what the judge does.

The MCSO failed to keep that man safe - I don't know how putting another prisoner in there with him (one being held for assault himself) was anything but reckless disregard for human life. It was criminal.

* Note how the AZ Republic decided to first identify this victim by his suspected crime, not by the fact that he was victimized.
--------------------------------

Sexual assault suspect found in cell lying in pool of blood

by Kyle Daly
Jun. 4, 2010
03:26 PM

The Arizona Republic

A Scottsdale man who was facing sexual assault charges was in critical condition after he was found in his jail cell lying in a pool of blood early Friday morning at the Lower Buckeye Jail in Phoenix, according to a Maricopa County Sheriff's Office news release.

The man's cellmate, Lamont Rider, 28, was sitting on his bunk when detention officers discovered the scene at about 3:50 a.m., according to the Sheriff's Office. The Scottsdale man was taken to a hospital where he was in serious condition.

Just before the Scottsdale man was discovered, detention officers had performed a cell-block check, according to authorities. An inmate in a nearby cell called officers on his intercom and said he heard cries of help coming from the next cell.

Jail detectives suspected that the victim's cellmate might have assaulted the Scottsdale man. Rider was in jail because he faces a minor assault charge, according to the Sheriff's Office. The Scottsdale man has been accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl.

The victim underwent surgery early Friday morning and is under watch in a secure section of the hospital.

Both men had requested administrative segregation for fear of their safety in the general population. The two had been in the cell together for less than 48 hours.