By Colbert I. King
Saturday, October 11, 2008
The D.C. Council held hearings this week on youths who are released from the Oak Hill detention facility before they are ready to rejoin the community -- an issue I have addressed in several columns.
The hearing focused on the behavior of troubled youths on D.C. streets. Today, we venture inside the barbed-wire fences.
Another day at Oak Hill? More like the anatomy of an assault.
On Sept. 30, a government source alerted me that youths had attacked an Oak Hill correctional officer two days earlier. I posed several questions to the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.
A day later, DYRS responded: "We can say that there was a physical altercation between a staff member and residents of Oak Hill on Sept. 28, which resulted in injury to the staff member."
"Physical altercation"? As in Webster's "noisy, heated angry dispute; noisy controversy, quarrel" with, perhaps, a little pushing and shoving?
DYRS has a way with words.
Let's go to the records (Oak Hill residents are identified by initials):
Youth correctional officer Leroy Duncan reported: "On Sept 28 approximately 12:45 pm . . . DB asked to use the restroom. I informed D to wait for 5 [minutes] due to another resident using the restroom -- LF. While escorting LF to his assigned room, I went to DB's room to escort him to the restroom.
"In the process of escorting D to the restroom he began to call me 'Bitch Ass Nigger.' At that time DB hit me in the back of my head, then in my face, seconds later CB, RH, MP, and DB all began to throw punches hitting me in the head, neck, back as well as hitting me with a [video-game] controller."
A fellow correctional officer, identified only as Isaacs, "called for assistance. While waiting on assistance, the residents were beating me. Ms. Issac [sic] opened the door for assistance to come in and the residents ran out[,] continuing to beat me. Staff assisted with helping me off the ground, I need medical attention and want to press charges."
"Physical altercation"?
Let's hear from Isaacs, who reported that while Duncan was escorting DB to the restroom, she heard the youth call Duncan the same expletive he reported hearing.
"At that time," she wrote, she saw "DB hit Duncan in the face, seconds later CB, RH, MP, DB all began throwing punches, hitting Duncan in the head, neck, back as well with a [video-game] controller. This writer called a code blue for assistance. While waiting on assistance, the residents were beating Duncan severely. This writer opened the door for assistance to come in and the residents ran out[,] continuing to beat Duncan. Staff came and assisted with helping Duncan off the ground.
"As a result of this assault, I sustained pain to my left shoulder, head, back and left knee."
"Physical altercation"?
Correctional officer Kelvin Powell: "Once we arrived, there were about five residents assaulting staff (Duncan). We were trying to divide them and counsel them, they just kept hitting him."
A correctional officer identified only as Nash: Residents "were outside fighting Duncan, hitting him in the face, pulling his hair. Several other [correctional officers] came to help intervene. Duncan walked away as if he was dazed and not alert."
Assaults on staff members, other Oak Hill employees have told me, are not unusual. Severe punishment is rare, they say, under the stewardship of DYRS Director Vincent Schiraldi.
Twice this week, I asked DYRS to provide the number of youth assaults on staffers that occurred in 2007 and so far this year.
On Thursday, DYRS brushed off my requests with this e-mail reply: "We can provide you with this data in future months but unfortunately we cannot go back in time to provide data because it is not automated and would take an extraordinary length of staff time to gather, since it would have to be collected by hand."
What if this data were sought by the mayor or D.C. Council?
On Wednesday, the DYRS chief of committed services, David Muhammad, sought an "off the record" conversation with me about the assault on Duncan.
Muhammad refused to discuss the matter on the record or on a basis that would allow me to report his information but identify him only in general terms. He said his superiors would not let him go that far.
I declined to accept information that could not be reported.
Footnote: The Oak Hill employee arrested at the facility Wednesday in connection with a 1998 murder case has a record that includes a 1989 drug conviction, a 1993 conviction on obstructing justice and conspiracy charges, and numerous arrests.
Mayor Adrian Fenty said he never should have been hired.
Somebody, please, wake the mayor!
Oak Hill and DYRS facilities are virtual job centers for ex-offenders. Check their criminal records.
Naw, that's probably also too time-consuming.
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