Florida Grand jury rips jailers for ignoring teen as he died

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Posted on Friday, March 9, 2012
Florida Grand jury rips jailers for ignoring teen as he died
By Carol Marbin Miller | Miami Herald

A West Palm Beach grand jury declared “fundamentally and woefully inadequate” the medical care given to an 18-year-old who died after two head injuries he received at the county juvenile lockup were ignored for hours by guards, supervisors and the facility’s superintendent.

Eric Perez, who was detained after being arrested with a small amount of marijuana, died in the early morning hours of July 9 after spending most of the prior night hallucinating, vomiting, soiling himself and seeking help from guards who ignored him. The grand jury’s presentment said Eric had been dead for an hour before lockup corrections officers noticed he had passed away. An officer stationed outside his cell had checked on him every 10 minutes without noticing his death.

“The only attempt to seek an outside medical opinion during the entire episode was two phone calls to the head nurse that went unanswered during the night,” the presentment said. “The officers’ response to Mr. Perez’s hallucinations, instability and cries of pain were to simply observe him as he lay on the floor vomiting and defecating in his underwear. More effort was spent cleaning the floor around the youth than attending to his welfare.”

Department of Juvenile Justice administrators said Friday they had received a copy of the report and “will carefully review its findings to determine if additional action is needed to ensure the safety of youth in our care.”

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/03/09/141347/florida-grand-jury-rips-jailers.html#storylink=cpy

[msongs]

1. "...arrested with a small amount of marijuana..." - From Obama down, the moron war on drugs nt

[Enrique]

2. +1,000,000,000,000,000

[daleanime]

3. Agreed.

From start to finish this poor kid's death was meaningless.

[RKP5637]

12. And there are millions and millions in the US in the same boat. This, has become a country

that only cares about money and profits. Millions of people are in the way. About half of the country is in poverty or on the border of poverty and it's not even noteworthy for MSM, for example, to give a F.

And the majority of politicians could give a F. All they're interested in is padding their wallets with cash they can siphon off the corrupt system.

My hopes for a better America have pretty much faded. It will take decades for this country to get its act together, if ever. And too many citizens are too ignorant to even vote in politicians that might help make the country better for ALL.

[daleanime]

17. I know it's hard...

but we have keep hoping, and working, to change this rotten system.

[RKP5637]

18. In the big picture it's really the only choice we have. I keep hoping that as more and more

people become disadvantaged they realize their vote and whom they vote for are extremely important and that they can change the system.

[RKP5637]

11. Exactly! This country and its priorities are so fucked up it's incredible, stupid and ignorant. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

4. More on the end of this young man's life, in jail, from the Miami Herald.

~snip~
Perez was being housed in module B-2 of the Palm Beach Regional Juvenile Detention Center on July 9 at about 7:40 p.m. when he and other detainees were taken to a cafeteria for snacks. When the youths were finished eating, an ordinary search of the boys for contraband food turned into an episode of “horseplay,” as officers laughed and joked with the youths they were searching, the report said.

Eric was “roughly tossed in the air, striking the wall and/or floor with his head and shoulder as he came down,” the report said. Security video from that day showed Eric wobbly on his feet after he fell.

At about 1:30 a.m. that night, Eric began to hallucinate: His cellmate called guards after he heard Eric scream “It’s going in my eye” and “Get it off me.”

The guard called his supervisor for help, and both officers saw Eric staggering around his cell. The youth was so disoriented he had to “crawl” out of his cell. “It hurts,” he screamed, referring to his head.

More:
http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/09/2684875/grand-jury-rips-jailers-for-ignoring.html#storylink=cpy

[Enrique]

5. "experts could not determine..."

http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/pulp/2012/03/djj_eric_perez_death_grand_jury_report.php

Perez died July 10, 2011 of a cerebral hemorrhage. But the grand jury declined to charge anyone involved with homicide, because experts could not determine exactly what caused the hemorrhage and whether prompt medical attention could have saved Perez's life. The grand jury also did not charge Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) officials with child neglect, because Perez was 18 and legally not considered a child.

The last hours of Perez's life were painful and gruesome.

On the evening of July 9, guards were searching the kids in custody at the Palm Beach Regional Juvenile Detention Center to make sure they didn't take any food from the cafeteria back to their cells. Perez was accused of trying to swipe a snack, and the guards didn't like it. They "roughly tossed [him] in the air, striking the wall and/or floor with his head and/or shoulder as he came back down," the grand jury report says. Security cameras video showed Perez was "unsteady on his feet" after the fall.

[Auntie Bush]

8. Makes me sick!

"He hit the wall as he was coming down." He had to have been thrown pretty high to have done so much damage to his head. Where are the videos of him being tossed into the air? It was murder!

[RKP5637]

13. Another cover up for MURDER!!! n/t

[Devil_Fish]

6. SHOW ME WHAT A POLICE STATE LOOKS LIKE!!!

THIS IS WHAT A POLICE STATE LOOKS LIKE!!!!!

[RKP5637]

14. We're there. They just need to finish getting some more tanks from DHS funding so tanks

can be roaming the streets preying on innocent people so the psychopaths and bullies can get their kicks.

[sarcasmo]

15. +1

[They_Live]

7. So these asshats got a stern talking to??

That's it? No charges of manslaughter or murder? That's what I call this. MURDER.

[JNelson6563]

9. Sue the crap out each guard, the jail, the county

I would own those motherfuckers for the rest of their lives if this was my child. That is, if I managed to not murder any of them in a blind rage. And if I did murder any of 'em I highly doubt there's a jury in the land that would convict me.

This must stop!

Julie

[bluedigger]

16. A few firings, and slaps on the hand.

Eric’s death was eerily similar to that of Omar Paisley, a 17-year-old Opa-locka boy who died at the Miami lockup on June 9, 2003, of a ruptured appendix after begging guards and nurses for medical care for three days. Following the scandal — lawmakers at the time said the agency was permeated by a “culture of neglect” — about 25 DJJ officials left the agency, including then Secretary W.G. “Bill” Bankhead, two of his top assistants, the lockup’s superintendent and the assistant superintendent. Most of the employees were fired.

A Miami-Dade grand jury that investigated Omar’s death called it “tragic” and “preventable,” and indicted two nurses. One of the two later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Charges against the other were dismissed.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/12/27/2563003_p2/6-to-be-fired-over-teens-death.html#storylink=cpy

[DLevine]

10. Police state.

USA! USA! USA!