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More details emerge in Perdue’s complaint

By BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizenNews.com

A lawsuit against the City of Union City has been filed by city resident Shakita Perdue over mistreatment she received July 31, 2004 while in custody at South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail in Union City. A similar suit has been filed against former jail medical provider Georgia Correctional Health, LLC., according to Perdue’s attorney Eldridge Suggs IV. Perdue is seeking $10 million,

While in custody, 28 year-old Perdue was strapped nude in a restraint chair for several hours in the jail’s “cage,” in plain view of male inmates and jail personnel, with her genitalia exposed to anyone in her proximity, Suggs claims. Perdue had been arrested by Fairburn on charges of disorderly conduct, obstruction, obscene language, terroristic threats and loitering and transported to the Union City jail. Her hair was forcibly cut and pepper spray was used on the restraint chair straps while she was seated in it, ostensibly as a deterrent to prevent her from attempting to chew through the straps, according to jail reports. Perdue told investigators that she was “high” and disorderly when she arrived at the jail. She was reported by one officer as having said she was going to kill herself.

Though Perdue acknowledged her behavior upon arriving at the facility, Suggs said the humiliation of being subjected to stares and comments and the other rights violations she endured is inexcusable and illegal.

“There is no excuse and no justification for why they did this, no strong enough reason as to why they would do this to her,” Suggs said.

It was day shift nurse Alene Campbell who arrived for her shift and put a stop to the incident, the jail report said. Campbell told investigators that Adams had stated “the inmate called her names and if the cameras were not in the intake area she would have ‘knocked the inmate’s teeth out of her mouth’ for ‘calling her names,’” the report said. The investigation also cited Campbell’s disagreement and “upset about Perdue being in the cage, nude, and in four-point restraints, exposing her genitalia to male officers and other inmates,” the report said. Campbell was cited by Suggs as the hero in the otherwise tragic event.

Sitting outside the jail last week, Perdue recalled the events that unfolded inside the facility last summer.

“They strapped me to a chair in what they call the cage, where everybody could see me. It made me mad because they were exposing my body to everybody. It was embarrassing. It still is,” Perdue said, also recalling that the stares she received were not the only insults she experienced. “One of the corrections officers said I was a drunk and an alcoholic. He made comments about my body, saying that nobody would want me.”

An extensive internal investigation by conducted by jail Sgt. James Hall validated many of Perdue’s claims. The investigation findings cited numerous policy violations committed primarily by jail Sgt. Tremata Anthony along with a lesser number by nurse Cathy Adams, employed by the facility’s former medical provider, Georgia Correctional Health, LLC.

Among the violations cited in the investigation were instances involving the use of force, employee standards of conduct, isolation room management, suicide observation, incident reporting and other violations relating to inmate searches, holding cells, the legal rights of inmates and supervisory responsibility.

Hall found three violations of jail policy 9-1.3, 9-1.5(D) relating to the use of force, according to the report. He cited the policy definition as: “Any action which involves physical contact in a confrontational situation which is employed by staff using authorized means to obtain compliance by inmates with orders from staff, to control disruptive/violent inmate(s), enforce or restore order to a jail facility, protect persons from imminent death or serious bodily harm, to protect South Fulton Municipal Regional Jail property, prevent escapes and capture escaped/escaping inmates.”

Hall found that a report was never generated for placing Perdue inside the restraint chair, citing the restraint chair as a “use of force.” Referencing the policy on its use, the policy states: “No inmate will be placed in four or five-point restraints (arms, legs and head secured) without the advance approval of the Jail Chief or Administrative Duty Officer. Health services staff must also be notified and access the inmate’s medical and mental health condition and advise whether the inmate should be placed in the medical/mental health evaluation cell for emergency involuntary treatment and/or other medical management.”

Regarding the use of pepper spray, the investigation concluded that: “Anthony never generated a report for using Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray on the restraint chair while Perdue was sitting in it. Anthony stated in her written statement that she used OC spray on the straps of the chair to keep Perdue from attempting to use her teeth to free her... Its use was not justified.”

The investigation also revealed a use of force violation, in that, “Neither security staff nor medical wrote a use of force report for the forced cutting of Perdue’s hair. Upon viewing the digital recording, it is clear that excessive force was used on Perdue as she was forcibly held to the ground, kicking and flailing while Anthony and another officer cut her hair.”

A violation of jail policy 3-3.6(b), regarding employee standards of conduct, showed that Anthony placed her hands on Perdue without justification and that the cutting of Perdue’s hair was not justified.

Regarding jail policy and procedure 13-10.3 relating to the facility’s isolation management room the investigation findings state: “Adams and Anthony violated the above policy by failing to place Perdue in an appropriate isolation room when her clothing and gown had been confiscated. When Adams refused to place Perdue in medical, maintaining her privacy, Anthony should have made the decision to place Perdue in medical or H-1 and documented Adams’ failure to comply with policy.”

A fourth policy and procedure violation, 13-10.5(A)(3), involved suicide observation status, stating that medical is to interview the inmate and assign the inmate an observation status. The investigation found that, “Adams did not adhere to this policy and should have informed security staff as to the appropriate suicide observation level status for Perdue. It should be noted that this was not properly done until three hours later by Campbell.”

A violation of the policy on incident reports, 5-1.5(A)(2)(a)(i), occurred when Anthony failed to provide the required preliminary Incident Report Form and all available Incident Statement Forms within 24 hours to the jail chief, the jail’s governing board and investigative staff, the report said. Anthony violated this policy due to the fact that she did not forward an incident report of any kind within the stated 24-hour guideline, Hall concluded.

Another violation occurred when anthony failed to log-in Perdue’s strip search, according to the report. Policy 9-5.5 (C) (3) states that a log of all persons strip-searched will be maintained by the facility and kept on file for a minimum of four years.

Jail policy 10-2.5 (A) (3), relating to holding cells, was violated when Anthony placed Perdue in the holding cell “cage” for a reason not defined by the policy governing the use of this cell, according to the investigative report. “The determination, by policy, was to be made by Administrative Duty Officer LT. Keith McGhee for placing Perdue in the cage for a reason other than those specified in this policy. Anthony failed to receive proper authorization as required,” the report concluded.

The eighth policy violation related to jail policy 14-4.4 (D), relating to the legal rights of inmates. In his findings, Hall said “Anthony violated Perdue’s right to ‘protection from personal abuse, verbal abuse, personal injury, disease, corporal punishment, property damage and harassment,’” the report said. Another portion of the policy, 14-4.5(A), states that the jail chief will investigate and/or cause to be investigated any allegation of a violation of this policy, while Section 14-4.5 (B) states that “Any staff member found violating the rights of inmates set forth in this policy will face possible disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment,” the report said.

A final policy violation in the Perdue incident related to post orders for the assistant shift supervisor. Hall concluded that “Anthony ‘failed to maintain compliance with facility policies and procedures and failed to conduct herself in a professional manner using sound judgment at all times,’ as required ini her post orders,” the report said.