Hogan's is not a lone voice

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 6, 2001

Roosevelt Paige

A pending federal lawsuit by dozens of black corrections officers charging systematic discrimination by their agency suggests that Capt. Willie Hogan was not alone in his sense of helplessness to correct wrongdoing in Florida's prison system.

What follows are excerpts from an April 12 deposition by Sgt. Roosevelt Paige, who worked at North Florida Reception Center, about 40 miles from the prison where Hogan worked. Paige and other officers say that African-American officers are often retaliated against for complaining about officers beating inmates.

Paige was deposed by Blake Hayward, an attorney for the Department of Corrections. The excerpts begin after Paige recounts seeing officers beat an inmate in 1999. "They discriminate against you for not going along with them beating up inmates," Paige said.

Hayward: All right. Did you file an incident report over this beating incident?

Paige: I told (a captain). She called me a liar.

Q: Did you file an incident report?

A: No.

Q: Why didn't you file an incident report?

A: Who am I going to file it to? Tallahassee covering up. You covering up with them. Who am I going to file it to? Who do I feel safe with? I wrote the inspector general recently. I ain't got no answer yet. . . .

Dying inside [Times art: Rossie Newson] A prison guard, sickened by abuse behind the walls, documented what he heard and saw. Now, after his early death, his diaries testify to what he could not change in life. Official responses dismiss diary Florida corrections secretary Michael Moore declined to comment on the allegations in Capt. Willie Hogan's journal, but his spokeswoman dismissed them.

Hayward: Mr. Paige, if you can, explain to me how you believe the lawyers the state hires are involved in a cover-up of inmate beating?

A: That's my opinion. I'm leaving it there.

Q: Okay. Tell me what facts you have that you base that opinion on, please.

A: Well, I think everybody that has been hired with the Department of Corrections that work there, North Florida Reception Center, hear people, how they bragged about how they used to beat up inmates. Some of them still doing it. . . . In the state of Florida everybody knows that's where you get beat.

Q: You haven't witnessed an incident of inmate beating in more than four years; is that correct?

A: Right.

Q: Are you aware of other incidents of inmate beating since then?

A: Yes. Inmates have come to me saying yes, they have been beat up.

Q: What have you done about that?

A: Well, just to keep them out of a predicament, I tell them, don't even call home and tell your people because they cover up here. If I complain about it, I'm going to get retaliated against. I sent an inmate to (a lieutenant) that complained about being beat up. She sent that same inmate back to "G" dorm, and he got beat up again. And it was hard for me to tell that man I wasn't involved in that. I didn't know how she was going to react. I went to her myself. But she condones it. She tolerates it. She threatens inmates that file grievances. Most of the time she does all this when the colonel ain't on duty. . . . (When an inmates files a formal complaint, officers) go in the mailbox, take the mail out, and tear the inmate's grievances up, call him in the captain's office and they threaten him. If they beat one, they're going to transfer him somewhere else and shut him up.

Later, Hayward asked why Paige didn't do more to document numerous instances of discrimination he experienced.

Paige: I've documented things for my notes, but you got a lot of family out there. You don't know who's who. You don't know who's married to who. You don't know who's friends with who. So I know a lot of cover-up is going on. I do. I mean why would I complain about anything being written out when the colonel -- he's in charge at the main unit -- this man himself tells wild stories about me and uses the word "n--- child"? He's the colonel. Do you think he cares about me complaining about any racial incidents?

In response to concerns from state lawmakers, corrections secretary Michael Moore ordered investigations into the allegations of Paige and other officers. Paige was placed on paid leave during the investigations.

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