Corrections1 Staff
LANCASTER, Fla. — Two Florida correctional officers have been suspended until state prison officials can sort out conflicting statements about the collapse of a 20-year-old inmate.
Inmate Samuel Dread collapsed after exercising for several hours in the 86 degree heat as part of his first day at an extended boot-camp style program for youthful offenders at the Lancaster Correctional Institution near Gainesville, Fla. He remains in critical condition after being placed into a medically-induced coma.
According to the Miami Herald, the office of Fla. Gov. Charlie Crist said there are questions about whether Dread was taking medication that required him to avoid extreme temperatures.
Department of Corrections Secretary Walt McNeil placed correctional officers Sgt. Michael Devanie and James Barry on administrative leave with pay after learning of these “conflicting witness statements,” the Palm Beach Post is reporting.
“Out of an abundance of caution, I have placed these officers on administrative leave until this issue is resolved. The mission of this department is public safety, and that includes the safety of our 102,000 inmates, a responsibility I take very seriously,” said McNeil. “If any wrongdoing has occurred, appropriate, swift action will be taken. In the meantime, these officers will have no further contact with inmates.”
According to a preliminary investigation, three medical workers at the prison applied ice to cool Dread, put him on a stretcher and remained with him until an ambulance arrived. He remained in critical condition at a Gainesville hospital on Thursday, according to The Gainesville Sun.
The five-foot-six, 140-pound Dread was serving a 10-year sentence for robbery. News accounts in 2008 said he fashioned two sticks to look like a gun and demanded cash from a clerk at a Walgreen’s in Gainesville. Upon his arrest, he admitted a second robbery at a thrift store, telling police he couldn’t keep a job and needed money.
In Florida, these types of incidents are particularly sensitive after the death of 14-year-old Martin Lee Anderson on Jan. 6, 2006.
Anderson died a day after being hit and kicked by officers. A videotape of the 30-minute incident drew national attention and led to the shutdown of boot camps for juvenile offenders in Florida.
Anderson had just been assigned to the camp after he was caught trespassing at a school, which violated his probation on another charge.
A coroner initially ruled that Anderson died because of a fatal hemorrhage related to an undiagnosed case of sickle cell anemia trait. Protests of that ruling inspired then-Gov. Jeb Bush to order an independent prosecutor to look into the case.
A subsequent autopsy determined that officers killed Anderson by depriving him of oxygen when they pushed ammonia tablets into his nose and covered his mouth.
A jury in Panama City acquitted the officers and a nurse of manslaughter. Jurors said they agreed with the contention of the officers’ attorneys that the men were employing widely accepted boot camp tactics and that the death was caused by the sickle cell trait.
In this new case, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is investigating the circumstances surrounding Samuel Dread’s collapse.
Officials said the investigation will likely be complete within a week or two.