Fern5827
September 24th 03, 03:39 PM
....Hmmmm employees can have abused children within their care with
impunity--but teens can DIE when Jailers abuse them, and stay in their
positions despite CRIMINAL RECORDS and previous instances of abuse of teen
inmates.
And parent are subject to CPS intrusions for slapping?
Something is way wrong, here.
Dead teen's jailkeeper faced firing 3 times
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Three times since 1999, state juvenile justice administrators sought to fire
Jack Harrington, the man in charge of Omar Paisley's ''module'' during the
three days the 17-year-old was dying of a burst appendix in the Miami-Dade
juvenile lockup.
But juvenile justice officials failed to carry out the dismissals on each
occasion, and Harrington was returned to his job as a supervisor.
Harrington, 52, is one of two men responsible for Omar's welfare who have
criminal records and personnel files documenting repeated allegations of
questionable judgment and the physical abuse of children. The other, assistant
superintendent Victor R. Davidson, was reassigned this week after a committee
of lawmakers publicly called for the Department of Juvenile Justice to suspend
him.
''This department is so adamant about locking up kids for their first
mistake,'' said state Rep. Gustavo ''Gus'' Barreiro, a Miami Beach Republican
who is chairing public hearings into Omar's death at the detention center. ``I
wish they had the same tolerance when kids make mistake as they do when their
own employees make mistakes.''
Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary William G. ''Bill'' Bankhead said
Friday he has ordered that Harrington, too, be reassigned to administrative
duties, where he will have no ``contact with youth.''
''I have instructed my inspector general to immediately commence an
investigation of the circumstances surrounding his employment,'' he said.
Davidson and Harrington are among scores of Department of Juvenile Justice
employees, workers entrusted with safeguarding children in detention centers,
who themselves have arrest records.
According to DJJ's inspector general, more than 100 employees have been
arrested statewide since Jan. 1, 1999, for offenses ranging from domestic
violence and possession of cocaine to child abuse and stalking.
Although many have been terminated or suspended, others have faced either no
consequences or administrative reprimands, DJJ records indicate.
Harrington, a juvenile justice employee since 1986, has been arrested twice,
including one arrest at the Juvenile Detention Center for obstruction of
justice. He has been the subject of at least three internal investigations. He
has been reprimanded once for using unnecessary force against children in his
care.
Davidson, who was in charge of the lockup the night Omar died, was charged
between 1978 and 1985 with marijuana and cocaine possession, possession of
''dangerous drugs,'' aggravated assault and domestic violence, The Herald
reported last month. None resulted in convictions.
His personnel file contains reprimands for actions that include physical abuse
of detainees, insubordination and negligence. He has been suspended twice.
Harrington's first arrest, in December 1991, was for misdemeanor battery.
Adjudication was withheld in the case, and Harrington was placed on probation
for six months, records show. Few details were available on the case, which is
in storage at the Miami-Dade criminal justice building.
Harrington was arrested again, on March 17, 1999, for obstruction of justice
and false imprisonment. The arrest occurred while Harrington was on duty as a
supervisor at the lockup, records show. DJJ has extensive records on the
incident, for which officials sought Harrington's dismissal.
The arrest occurred when two detectives came to the lockup with hopes of asking
a detainee questions about an incident in which she was the victim of an
alleged sexual assault. A July 19, 1999, a letter recommending termination says
Harrington ''refused to allow'' the detectives to question the girl.
''It was determined that you were yelling at the youth, telling her she was
dumb and stupid for speaking with the police officers and that all they wanted
was to put her in the big house,'' the letter says.
While the proposed dismissal was still pending, a DJJ spokeswoman said, an
investigator ''deleted'' the proposal. Records are unclear as to why, and
Bankhead has asked that the matter be reviewed.
Later that year, administrators proposed firing Harrington for pushing a
detainee so hard the youth broke a pane of plexiglass attached to a door. The
incident occurred Dec. 6, 1999, when Harrington noticed a youth ''walking on
the back of his shoes'' after leaving the cafeteria.
Upon appeal, the proposed firing was reduced to a 45-day suspension without
back pay, and Harrington was ''returned to his former classification,'' DJJ
records show.
Harrington faced a proposed dismissal again, for an incident that occurred on
May 4, 2001, in which Harrington failed to investigate claims that one detainee
forced another youth to perform oral sex on two or three occasions. It is
unclear why the termination was not carried out.
Harrington did not respond to a request for comment conveyed through a DJJ
spokesman.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
© 2003 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miami.com
descriptors; DCF, DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, CPS, FOSTER CARE,
TEENAGE CRIME, ABUSE, NEGLECT, CHILD PROTECTIVE, CRIME, JUVENILE DETENTION
CENTERS, FAMILY LAW, FLORIDA, PUNISHMENT
impunity--but teens can DIE when Jailers abuse them, and stay in their
positions despite CRIMINAL RECORDS and previous instances of abuse of teen
inmates.
And parent are subject to CPS intrusions for slapping?
Something is way wrong, here.
Dead teen's jailkeeper faced firing 3 times
BY CAROL MARBIN MILLER
Three times since 1999, state juvenile justice administrators sought to fire
Jack Harrington, the man in charge of Omar Paisley's ''module'' during the
three days the 17-year-old was dying of a burst appendix in the Miami-Dade
juvenile lockup.
But juvenile justice officials failed to carry out the dismissals on each
occasion, and Harrington was returned to his job as a supervisor.
Harrington, 52, is one of two men responsible for Omar's welfare who have
criminal records and personnel files documenting repeated allegations of
questionable judgment and the physical abuse of children. The other, assistant
superintendent Victor R. Davidson, was reassigned this week after a committee
of lawmakers publicly called for the Department of Juvenile Justice to suspend
him.
''This department is so adamant about locking up kids for their first
mistake,'' said state Rep. Gustavo ''Gus'' Barreiro, a Miami Beach Republican
who is chairing public hearings into Omar's death at the detention center. ``I
wish they had the same tolerance when kids make mistake as they do when their
own employees make mistakes.''
Department of Juvenile Justice Secretary William G. ''Bill'' Bankhead said
Friday he has ordered that Harrington, too, be reassigned to administrative
duties, where he will have no ``contact with youth.''
''I have instructed my inspector general to immediately commence an
investigation of the circumstances surrounding his employment,'' he said.
Davidson and Harrington are among scores of Department of Juvenile Justice
employees, workers entrusted with safeguarding children in detention centers,
who themselves have arrest records.
According to DJJ's inspector general, more than 100 employees have been
arrested statewide since Jan. 1, 1999, for offenses ranging from domestic
violence and possession of cocaine to child abuse and stalking.
Although many have been terminated or suspended, others have faced either no
consequences or administrative reprimands, DJJ records indicate.
Harrington, a juvenile justice employee since 1986, has been arrested twice,
including one arrest at the Juvenile Detention Center for obstruction of
justice. He has been the subject of at least three internal investigations. He
has been reprimanded once for using unnecessary force against children in his
care.
Davidson, who was in charge of the lockup the night Omar died, was charged
between 1978 and 1985 with marijuana and cocaine possession, possession of
''dangerous drugs,'' aggravated assault and domestic violence, The Herald
reported last month. None resulted in convictions.
His personnel file contains reprimands for actions that include physical abuse
of detainees, insubordination and negligence. He has been suspended twice.
Harrington's first arrest, in December 1991, was for misdemeanor battery.
Adjudication was withheld in the case, and Harrington was placed on probation
for six months, records show. Few details were available on the case, which is
in storage at the Miami-Dade criminal justice building.
Harrington was arrested again, on March 17, 1999, for obstruction of justice
and false imprisonment. The arrest occurred while Harrington was on duty as a
supervisor at the lockup, records show. DJJ has extensive records on the
incident, for which officials sought Harrington's dismissal.
The arrest occurred when two detectives came to the lockup with hopes of asking
a detainee questions about an incident in which she was the victim of an
alleged sexual assault. A July 19, 1999, a letter recommending termination says
Harrington ''refused to allow'' the detectives to question the girl.
''It was determined that you were yelling at the youth, telling her she was
dumb and stupid for speaking with the police officers and that all they wanted
was to put her in the big house,'' the letter says.
While the proposed dismissal was still pending, a DJJ spokeswoman said, an
investigator ''deleted'' the proposal. Records are unclear as to why, and
Bankhead has asked that the matter be reviewed.
Later that year, administrators proposed firing Harrington for pushing a
detainee so hard the youth broke a pane of plexiglass attached to a door. The
incident occurred Dec. 6, 1999, when Harrington noticed a youth ''walking on
the back of his shoes'' after leaving the cafeteria.
Upon appeal, the proposed firing was reduced to a 45-day suspension without
back pay, and Harrington was ''returned to his former classification,'' DJJ
records show.
Harrington faced a proposed dismissal again, for an incident that occurred on
May 4, 2001, in which Harrington failed to investigate claims that one detainee
forced another youth to perform oral sex on two or three occasions. It is
unclear why the termination was not carried out.
Harrington did not respond to a request for comment conveyed through a DJJ
spokesman.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
------
© 2003 The Miami Herald and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.
http://www.miami.com
descriptors; DCF, DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, CPS, FOSTER CARE,
TEENAGE CRIME, ABUSE, NEGLECT, CHILD PROTECTIVE, CRIME, JUVENILE DETENTION
CENTERS, FAMILY LAW, FLORIDA, PUNISHMENT