By C1 Staff
DENVER, Colo. — A former Canon City corrections officer admitted to locking two inmates inside a cold, walk-in refrigerator to teach them a lesson, according to a judge’s ruling.
The Chieftain reports that an internal investigation found that the officer’s actions constituted “willful misconduct” and directly affected the prison’s safety and security, according to U.S. District Judge Raymond Moore’s ruling.
In 2010, while former CO Linda Duke was supervising inmates working in the kitchen at the Fremont Correctional Facility, she closed the door on two inmates who were putting away leftover milk inside a walk-in refrigerator. She then locked the padlock with the inmates still inside; temperatures were at 39 degrees at the time.
One of the inmates estimated they were inside for at least 20 minutes.
Duke stated that she locked the inmates inside to “teach these offenders that they [cannot] just go through a door because it opened,” according to a report.
Sgt. Rhonda Wheeler, another officer overseeing the inmate’s work, thought Duke acted out of spite because Wheeler said there was “no love lost” between her and Duke.
The inmates who were locked inside the refrigerator, Jeff Brosh and John Coon, sued Duke, but two judgements ruled in Duke’s favor.
The Colorado Department of Corrections said unspecified corrective action was taken against Duke for not following policy regarding supervision of inmates. A spokesperson said that Duke “was not terminated and her no longer working here is not related to the litigation.”