North Escambia
MIAMI — A federal judge Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit filed by five Department of Corrections investigators who claimed they were retaliated against for exposing a cover-up involving the death of an inmate at a Panhandle prison in 2010.
Four of the investigators, who work for Department of Corrections Inspector General Jeff Beasley, claimed they were denied whistleblower status and made the subject of internal investigations after telling Gov. Rick Scott’s Inspector General Melinda Miguel about the death of Randall Jordan-Aparo, who died at Franklin Correctional Institution after being gassed with noxious chemicals. A fifth investigator later joined the lawsuit.
Investigators Aubrey Land, David Clark, Doug Glisson, John Ulm, and James Padgett accused Beasley of launching the internal probe after they alleged Miguel’s office was aware of the cover-up of Jordan-Aparo’s death.
But U.S. District Judge William Stafford rejected the investigators’ arguments that their comments to Miguel and Assistant Inspector General Dawn Case were protected by the First Amendment. That protection only applies to citizens and not to employees, Stafford ruled.
Full story: Judge Tosses Out Florida Prison Whistleblower Case