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Excessive force used on teen inmate, says report
By JIM ROSS, Times Staff Writer LECANTO -- A former staff member unjustifiably held a 16-year-old inmate in a headlock, punched his face and threw him against a wall after the inmate flooded a sleeping area, according to a Department of Juvenile Justice investigation of Cypress Creek. The department announced those conclusions Wednesday. At issue was the behavior of Bill Newkirk, the former assistant facility administrator at Cypress Creek, which is a state lockup for juvenile offenders. A private company, Correctional Services Corp./Youth Services International, operates the facility on the state's behalf. Newkirk worked for that company until Wednesday, when he was fired. The report did not mention any potential criminal charges Newkirk might face in connection with the incident. In past cases of alleged wrongdoing by Cypress Creek staff, prosecutors have waited for the Department of Juvenile Justice to investigate before making their filing decions. Cypress Creek, which is adjacent to the county jail in Lecanto, is a place judges send violent juvenile offenders who need long-term stays behind bars. The inmates come from all over Florida. Newkirk told investigators he took limited physical action in self defense. He denied holding the boy in a headlock, hitting him or pushing him against a wall, according to the investigative report. But inmates and Cypress Creek staffers who witnessed the incident generally agreed the force was worse than what Newkirk described and was unprovoked, the report showed. Several other staffers said Newkirk later bragged about the way he forcefully changed the boy's attitude. "No staff person working for DJJ or one of our providers should ever treat a youth in the manner that was substantiated in this case," said Bill Bankhead, the Juvenile Justice secretary, in prepared remarks. Bankhead said the department's management team is developing a "corrective action plan" that is due in mid August. Newkirk, 37, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. A woman who answered the phone at his family home said Newkirk was away on vacation until Friday. The department's Inspector General office investigated the claim, which stemmed from the events of April 23 and 24. An investigator interviewed the inmates, the staff and Newkirk. According to the investigative report, which the department released Wednesday, here's what happened: The inmate, who at the time was 16, admitted flooding the toilet inside his cell about 6:15 p.m. April 23. When staff shut off the water supply, he broke a fire sprinkler on the ceiling, flooding his cell and surrounding cells in a dorm named Wildcats. The boy said he was upset a staff member had failed to address some of his concerns, the report said. It didn't specify what the concerns were. Inmates were relocated while staff cleaned the mess. Newkirk said someone at Cypress Creek called the place where he was staying about 11:15 that night to report what had happened. He went to the facility and asked that the boy who caused the damage be brought back to help clean, Newkirk told investigators. From there, accounts vary significantly. Newkirk told investigators the boy who flooded the dormitory used foul language, threw a squeegee at him and threatened him with a clenched fist. In response, Newkirk said he placed the boy's arms behind his back and took him to the floor, all in an effort to calm him. The boy said Newkirk, unprovoked, threatened him, cursed, placed him in a headlock, punched the right side of his face with a closed fist and then pushed him into a wall, cutting his head. Two fellow inmates corroborated that version of events. One employee witnessed the headlock and another saw Newkirk push the boy, the report says. Two staffers contradicted Newkirk's claim that the boy was the aggressor. The medical staff confirmed the boy required medical attention. The Inspector General substantiated allegations that Newkirk used improper and excessive force, failed to report what happened, as is required, and bragged about what he had done later during a staff meeting, the report showed. The report also cited youth counselors Kent Clark and Mario Muniz and acting shift supervisor Johnny Estevez for failing to complete an incident report, despite their knowledge of what had happened. The supervisor was suspended, Cypress Creek said, while the other staffers were reprimanded.
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