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Federal Probe Of Escambia Sheriff’s Department, County Jail
January 30, 2009
A federal investigation has been launched into the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department and the Escambia County Jail.
New Sheriff David Morgan held a press conference Thursday afternoon to announce that the U.S. Department of Justice was beginning the probe into his department. Morgan received word of the probe on January 9, three days after he was sworn into office.
The letter says the DOJ “investigation will focus on use of excessive force by deputies of the ECSO”.
“The…investigation will focus on protection of inmates from harm, including providing adequate medical care, mental health care, protection from inmate violence, and sanitation conditions, as well as use of excessive forces against inmates.” the letter from Acting Assistant Attorney General Grace Chung Becker said.
While the DOJ has not been specific about the target of its investigation, it is believed to center around the deaths of three inmates during the administration of previous Sheriff Ron McNesby:
- Robert Boggon, 65, died at the jail in August of 2005. He was strapped into a restaint chair, and had been shocked by a stun gun. Records indicate that he had struggled with several deputies. The ECSO acted properly in its treatment of Boggon, according to a judge’s ruling.
- Hosea Bell, 55, died after being arrested for public urination in December 2006.
- Jerry Preyer, 45, died at the jail after being hit twice by a Taser stun gun in a struggle with detention staff. Preyer claimed he was Jesus. Deputies were cleared of any wrongdoing in the case.
The Department of Justice did not reveal who made the complaints that led to their investigation, and they did not reveal complete details about the complaints.
Officials from the DOJ are expected to set up at the Sheriff’s Department, where they will be provided with office space, phones and computers. Sheriff Morgan says he plans to fully cooperate with the investigation, which may not begin for several weeks.
Comments
9 Responses to “Federal Probe Of Escambia Sheriff’s Department, County Jail”
The justice system as a whole is a total mess. The jail is just the tip of the iceberg.
This is for SNOW!~! Been there and got a t-shirt and I don’t know where in the heck you were detained but I never slept in a “warm” bed. The three meals a day were at what 4am 12 and 5pm…. and if you were not up then you didn’t eat, which thank god I wasn’t there long enough to need any of that so called food. I would love to work and make changes to the jails. You are right about the ones that are out of control but there is a right way to handle things and a wrong way. Maybe you should watch that movie called FELON. That is reality and not just another movie… They made that movie straight out of jail. That is how it actually is. Someone gets a badge and a gun and they do no wrong…that is a crock. I appreiciate the dedicated officers that are there to do their job and do it well but I would be willing to bet that over half of the officers are more of crooks then the ones detained……….AMEN!
Al is right ,it was ronnie mac that brought this investigation to town……by not doing his job. Thank God and greyhound he’s gone. Mr. Morgan is living up to his promises everyday and I think alot of us sleep sounder at night knowing he’s got the watch.
“It is good to see a sheriff doing what he said he would do during his campaign..we are proud of our new sheriff..we support you, Sheriff Morgan!”
Umm…… General Morgan doesn’t have anything to do with the investigation coming to town. He just gets to dress up pretty for it.
Our LEOs do a job few of us would ever imagine doing….. and get absolutely no respect or gratitude from the masses. Bad attitudes breed and feed on lack of appreciation.
I am proud of our department…. they have come a long way and are continually working on taking that improvement further… with or without a general heading them up
Inmates have more rights than I do. And I was raised by a police officer and a teacher. I was taught that if you did wrong you got punished. I had enough sense to stay out of trouble and jail. Police officers are not paid well and have to put up with total idiots on a daily basis. Those idiots do not care for human life so they act up in jail. The police are doing the best they can. And I think the country is so horrible now because the bad people never get sever punishment for their wrong doings. All they get is more rights than tax paying, hard working,God fearing people that stay out of trouble.
I am very proud of all the officers at the escambia county jail. They have a very hard job dealing the the problems of our county. people who act like fools and end up in jail and then want to act like fools in jail and the officers are supposed to just let them do what they want. I wish some of these eye opened people would come work at the jail just one day and they would close there eyes.not all people in jail are bad but a small handful cause a lot of problem. when you fight with the police you will not win.hey w.r. there are no nothing type people working at the jail. you get what you ask for. do what you are told and you have no problems.The jail is hiring if you want to make your voice heard come on down and you will change your mind. The inmates have more rights than tax paying citizens.I have spent time in both county jail and state prison 3 hot meals every day , a warm bed and security to watch me sleep. They once used night sticks and beat inmates now days they dont do that they use a stun gun but only on OUT OF CONTROL PEOPLE . God bless the officers I could not do there job. They put up with to much for to little. AMEN!!!!!!!
It is about time the DOJ come in, odd they “waited” til after Ronnie Mac left office, but atleast they are there now.
It is good to see a sheriff doing what he said he would do during his campaign..we are proud of our new sheriff..we support you, Sheriff Morgan!
Human they are and As Human they should be treated. Cops must go to school for training to be as hateful acting and unhuman as they can be. Give a Nothing type person a little athority and just see what a butt they can become. The DOJ should spend time in all Jails. It’s not just Escambia County that treat inmates the way they do.
It is about damn time that someone opened their eyes and raised their voice about these inmates! They are human beings and I understand that they are not there for good behavior but the detainees we have from Iraq and other places of war get better treatment than our own American people. What a shame!! The country is always helping other countries and helping them when we need to focus on our neighbors and our own people. AMEN!