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Volusia County Jail Nurse Assaulted By Inmate Nurse Voices Concern For Her Safety Do The Reports And Investigation Contain Red Flag Discrepancies ? |
September 16, 2013 |
but most pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened."
Winston Churchill
Fleetwood Mac - Little Lies
According to the attached jail and VCSO reports, on August 2, 2013 at approximately 2015 hrs (that's 8:15PM for us civilians), while Jail Nurse Barbara Turner was doing medication pass in cell block 2D, she was assaulted by a lockdown / segregated inmate.
The reports support that Inmate John Sharp reached out of his segregation cell up to his shoulders grabbing Nurse Turner by the neck / throat. He then proceeded to choke and shake her violently.
Although Sgt. Thomas documents that she saw Inmate Sharp's hand come out of the cell, she (Thomas) apparently did not witness the assault, being that she had to question Nurse Thomas on whether Sharp had touched her (Turner). (see Sgt. Thomas' report)
However, according to Nurse Turner's report, she believed that Sgt. Thomas did not appropriate assist her in breaking Inmate Sharp's hold on her throat. (see Turner's report) Therefore, should it be concluded that Nurse Turner believed that Sgt. Thomas was in a position to witness the assault?
No Code Blue Staff Called
Within Nurse Turner's report, she questions why Sgt. Thomas did not call a "Code Blue Staff".
A "Code Blue Staff" is called via the departmental radio channel and also announced over the building intercom. Basically, it's a call for assistance from ALL available staff, due to a staff member being assaulted.
We suspect that Sgt. Thomas erred in not calling the "Code Blue Staff", and there is evidence and logic to support our belief.
As documented in Officer J. Weeks' report, immediately after the assault Officer Weeks questioned Sgt. Thomas on whether they should call a "Code Blue Staff". Sgt. Thomas advised Officer Weeks not to call the code, being that Inmate Sharp was already in a secured cell.
We suspect that Officer Weeks' logic of calling the code would have been the appropriate choice, and here is why.
First, it was obvious that Inmate Sharp needed to be moved to a more secure location - and shortly after the incident, that is exactly what staff did. So by calling the code, you immediately get the staff on location to facilitate the move.
Second, Inmate Sharp may have had a weapon. Sgt. Thomas could not know for sure - after all she apparently did not even see the assault.
Third, a jail nurse (non-uniform staff) had just been assaulted. Many of these non-uniform staff members (medical, case management, support staff) feel that some uniform staff members do not treat their safety concerns to the same level as they do fellow uniformed staff members. Therefore, by not calling the code, Sgt. Thomas only helped to re-enforce that belief, and such is apparent within the text of Nurse Turner's report.
Fourth, we highly suspect that operational policies call for the calling of the code.
Sheriff Department Called Two Days Later
According to the VCSO Incident Report (see attached) - the jail did not call the VCSO to file criminal charges against Inmate Sharp until the early morning hours of August 4, 2013 - two days after the incident. Our staff here at VolusiaExposed has some experience in Volusia County Jail operations - and we find that two day delay to be very strange.
The Failure To Immediately Secure Reports
A review of the attached reports will clearly indicate that Nurse Turner did not file her report until August 5, 2013, and the two assigned officers on Unit 2 (Weeks and Bertrand) didn't file their reports until August 9, 2013.
Also, in regards to the Officer Weeks and Bertrand reports, take note how both are typed written - have very similar syntax and sentence structure, and are both dated for August 9, 2013 at 0800 hrs (exactly). Would it be inappropriate to question whether the Weeks and Bertrand reports were written by the same individual ?
Anyone that has operational knowledge of the Volusia County jail, would know that an officer is required to file his or her report on the date that the incident occurred. The collection of reports up to a week after the incident is a big red flag.
The reports support that Inmate John Sharp reached out of his segregation cell up to his shoulders grabbing Nurse Turner by the neck / throat. He then proceeded to choke and shake her violently.
Although Sgt. Thomas documents that she saw Inmate Sharp's hand come out of the cell, she (Thomas) apparently did not witness the assault, being that she had to question Nurse Thomas on whether Sharp had touched her (Turner). (see Sgt. Thomas' report)
However, according to Nurse Turner's report, she believed that Sgt. Thomas did not appropriate assist her in breaking Inmate Sharp's hold on her throat. (see Turner's report) Therefore, should it be concluded that Nurse Turner believed that Sgt. Thomas was in a position to witness the assault?
Within Nurse Turner's report, she questions why Sgt. Thomas did not call a "Code Blue Staff".
A "Code Blue Staff" is called via the departmental radio channel and also announced over the building intercom. Basically, it's a call for assistance from ALL available staff, due to a staff member being assaulted.
We suspect that Sgt. Thomas erred in not calling the "Code Blue Staff", and there is evidence and logic to support our belief.
As documented in Officer J. Weeks' report, immediately after the assault Officer Weeks questioned Sgt. Thomas on whether they should call a "Code Blue Staff". Sgt. Thomas advised Officer Weeks not to call the code, being that Inmate Sharp was already in a secured cell.
We suspect that Officer Weeks' logic of calling the code would have been the appropriate choice, and here is why.
First, it was obvious that Inmate Sharp needed to be moved to a more secure location - and shortly after the incident, that is exactly what staff did. So by calling the code, you immediately get the staff on location to facilitate the move.
Second, Inmate Sharp may have had a weapon. Sgt. Thomas could not know for sure - after all she apparently did not even see the assault.
Third, a jail nurse (non-uniform staff) had just been assaulted. Many of these non-uniform staff members (medical, case management, support staff) feel that some uniform staff members do not treat their safety concerns to the same level as they do fellow uniformed staff members. Therefore, by not calling the code, Sgt. Thomas only helped to re-enforce that belief, and such is apparent within the text of Nurse Turner's report.
Fourth, we highly suspect that operational policies call for the calling of the code.
According to the VCSO Incident Report (see attached) - the jail did not call the VCSO to file criminal charges against Inmate Sharp until the early morning hours of August 4, 2013 - two days after the incident. Our staff here at VolusiaExposed has some experience in Volusia County Jail operations - and we find that two day delay to be very strange.
A review of the attached reports will clearly indicate that Nurse Turner did not file her report until August 5, 2013, and the two assigned officers on Unit 2 (Weeks and Bertrand) didn't file their reports until August 9, 2013.
Also, in regards to the Officer Weeks and Bertrand reports, take note how both are typed written - have very similar syntax and sentence structure, and are both dated for August 9, 2013 at 0800 hrs (exactly). Would it be inappropriate to question whether the Weeks and Bertrand reports were written by the same individual ?
Anyone that has operational knowledge of the Volusia County jail, would know that an officer is required to file his or her report on the date that the incident occurred. The collection of reports up to a week after the incident is a big red flag.
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