Last week we wrote about a case of jail inmates working as detention officers at Oklahoma County Jail. Here is the complete affidavit. This guy was in jail because an apartment manager wanted him out of the complex. He had been drinking but was on his own patio. Drinking is legal, drinking on your own patio is legal. Most cops would have told the guy to go back inside for a while and upheld the law.
Warning, there is some vulgar language used by some of the guards at the jail that is being reported so don't read this at your office or if a child is sitting with you.
Here is his statement:
To whom it may concern,
My name is Michael John Haines and I am writing this letter to shed light on some very serious problems and concerns during my incarceration at the Oklahoma County Jail on Thursday, September 22, 2016, for Public Intoxication at my own residence. This is the first time in 33 years of age that I have been arrested, besides once when I was 18, but that case was immediately dismissed, so that does not count against me. I am going to consider this the first time in 33 years of age that I was arrested and that I am clearly not a criminal and what I observed this night was corruption at its finest, with my own two eyes. Now you might ask yourself what credibility do I have?
Allow me too give a brief introduction of myself. I am a 100 percent Service-Connected Disabled Army Veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, during the Iraq wars, from September 2003 to 2004, I also went to Kuwait for two months before invading Iraq. I received an Army Commendation Medal after being injured in Ar Ramadii, Iraq when I was 19; I also received a Congressional coin from the U.S Senate and the House of Representatives when I was receiving surgery on my right eye in in Landstuhl, Germany in 2004. I have Blindness in my right eye, scars on my forehead, and suffer from severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, (PTSD) for short. I hold a Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice with a Biology minor with 155 credit hours in Crime and Biology from Southwestern Oklahoma State University. I am reserve C.L.E.E.T (Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training) certified with the State of Oklahoma as of 2012 and have been doing Law Enforcement both reserve and full-time with 5 different agencies since 2012. My last full-time Police Officer job being in June of 2016. I did a 6 month internship with the Clinton County Police Department as a Correctional Officer, In addition, doing security work all along the way.
So where should we begin, there is so many problems on so many different levels that took place that I am not really sure where too even start, however, I will do my best to try and cover all of the topics I want to discuss in a clear and chronological order. Essentially, what I would like to discuss with you is nothing more than complete corruption and total unprofessional-ism at the highest of levels. Upon my arrival at the Oklahoma County Jail, I was patted down, by what I thought to be Oklahoma County Sheriff's Detention Officers, as they were dressed in the same attire that an actual Detention Officer would wear, I am unable to recall if they were wearing duty belts because I was not paying that much attention and I was slightly intoxicated at this point, however, I would not find out until several hours later that the two people that patted me down were actually in fact inmates, trustees I presume, but nonetheless, inmates.
The reason I know this is due to the fact that I was put in an isolated cell by myself because one of the Corrections Officers stated too another Correctional officer upon my arrival, that I was possible ex-Law Enforcement, and that I should be put in a cell by myself because it was a security risk. Notice how I said arrival, and not booked in, that is because I was not booked into the jail until 22 hours later, which I will discuss in the next paragraph, the booking procedures section. Back to the topic at hand, at around 1700-1800 hours, which would be 7 to 8 hours later from the time I arrived at the facility, I observed those same two males come to the segregation wing just past booking, stand right in front of my cell with an "actual" Correctional Officer, take off their uniforms, get naked, and dress into orange jumpsuits. At this point my jaw dropped. Not only is that illegal, but it poses a huge security risk. At this point of the night, the Correctional Officers have no idea what my credentials are, nonetheless, I started observing and taking mental notes of every little detail.
Let's touch on the booking process. I am not 100 percent sure what the Oklahoma County Jail's policy is on detox time, however, in my professional experience as a Police Officer it is typically between 10-12 hours. Which I am fairly confident that Oklahoma County Jail's policy is just that, a 10 hour OR (Observational recognition) detox time. I never worked for Oklahoma City Police Department, nor would I want too, as I have heard of the corruption within that agency from talking with other Police Officers over the years and seeing the news, so that is why I don't know their policy and procedures.
Nevertheless, I was kept at the facility for 24 hours without a phone call, in which I will go into more detail in just a little bit. I would like to state that I only had two mix drinks at 9 AM the previous day of Mountain Dew and Vodka, mixed at a proportion of 40 percent Vodka with 60 percent Mountain Dew with no ice on an empty stomach. The human body processes alcohol at faster rate on an empty stomach, as food absorbs the alcohol. Even though it is not required for a public intoxication charge, as any amount of Alcohol in your system is valid enough to constitute public intoxication, I asked the arresting Officer if I could blow to see what my BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) was. I blew a .100, barely over the legal limit, "if I were driving a vehicle,".
The Officer could have simply asked my too go back inside and I would have complied immediately, that is what I would have done if I were the Officer in that situation. I would have simply told that person, go inside your home and stay there for the rest of the day, if I have to come back out here, you will go to jail. Instead, the Officer arrived, placed me in detainment for their safety and mine, which is common Police practice, placed me in the back of their patrol car while they talked to the RP (Reporting Party) again, common Police practice. The Officer just got in their car and said you're under arrest for public intoxication without hearing my side of the story. The human liver processes about 1 mix drink/per hour for a 150 lb male. I weigh 155 pounds; therefore, by around 1 PM that afternoon I was completely sober. To reiterate, I arrived at the jail at around 10AM, completely sober at around 1 PM that afternoon as I only had two mix drinks on an empty stomach; my body had processed all of the Alcohol in my system; and kept there an addition 21 hours from that point, again, without a phone call. That is terrible!
By the time I was actually booked in was about 4 hours before my release, when I asked why am I just now being booked in, their response was because you were being belligerent earlier, too which I stated, are you kidding me? I was not belligerent at all. Whoever is reading this paper right now, look at the cameras, you will see I was not being belligerent, at all! In fact, when they were "supposedly" booking me in earlier, I was tugged in the female Correctional Officers direction, to the right, by her. She then said to me, "quit resisting me", too which I replied I'm not, you pulled me that direction. Too which she replied, "your flexing on me", too which I replied, because you pulled on me, it was just a natural reaction too regain my balance from you almost pulling me over. At no point during my stay at this terrible, terrible, facility was I belligerent. If anything, after about 12 hours with no phone call, I remember banging on the door demanding too talk to a supervisor, of course I was ignored. And at this point I was pretty upset, but I think anybody would have been given the circumstances, but I was not belligerent. Apparently, someone committed suicide when I was there that night. And I can see why, that is why I am writing this paper so that it stops or is reduced.
The next topic I would like to touch base on is the cell conditions. The cell conditions were extremely poor too say the least. I was put on a hard metal bunk that had no pad and was given no pillow or blanket at all for 24 hours. That is not only wrong; it is inhumane, especially when I am in the State's custody. Inmates have the right to be free, under the 8th Amendment, from inhumane conditions because those conditions constitute "cruel and unusual" punishment. I was given 2 bologna sandwiches during the 24 hour stay, while I observed the other inmates around me getting hot trays of food. When they got a hot tray of food, I got a sandwich. I am pretty confused still as too why this was the case.
Now I would like to discuss the unprofessional-ism of the Correctional Officers. This is going to be a long section, yes it's that bad. Under the 5th Amendment you have the right to an Attorney, if you cannot afford one, one will appointed too you. It stands to reason that if "you have the right to speak too an Attorney," you should be provided with the means to do so (e.g. a phone call), after a reasonable amount of time, basic Miranda principles. After being there for around two to three hours, I asked a Correctional Officer, by knocking on the cell door and saying, excuse me Deputy may I have my phone call now, I am allowed a phone call. His response was, "why do you keep calling me a fucking deputy?" I said, well I'm sorry what rank are you? He stated too me, "I a damn Captain!" I said ok well, I see that you don't have your Captains collar brass on, so I had nothing to go off of, other than the fact that your shirt sleeve says Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office, so I assumed you were a Deputy. I then said to him, you know if we were in Iraq and I was a Private and you were a Captain and I didn't salute you, which would be your fault since you don't have your collar brass on. Then I asked him, if you don't mind me asking, how come you are not wearing it? He then smirked and stated too me in a smart manner, because I left it at the strip club. I said to him at this point, wow bro, real professional you are, so professional. He then wrote something next too my door and walked off.
I would come to find out later that he wrote Mental Health observation next too my door. The night started getting worse and worse from there. I assume he did this because I made him mad somehow. Perhaps he did it because he knew that it would keep me there for hours upon hours longer than I should have been. I can also speak and understand some Spanish. At a later point in the night I hear this same Correctional Officer, "Captain" Reylenez or something very close to that, say out loud and I don't know who he was talking too when he said it, himself, another inmate trustee, who knows, but what was said was "I'm gonna Chinga la ponocho, later on tonight! And I am sorry if you are a female reading this, but that means "I'm gonna fuck some pussy, later on tonight." Absolutely and utterly unprofessional.
At this point, I told him my intentions. I stated too him, you are really digging yourself in a hole man, you guys can't keep my in here forever, and I said to him I am going to write the most detailed, accurate, articulate, paper you have ever seen, and get it out too all the right people. And he obviously did not care, or realize who I was and what I have been doing with my life since the age of eighteen, or perhaps he has been getting away with the corruption for a long time and is just used too it now. But that is exactly what I am doing right now, writing and typing what I observed and how I was treated on probably one of the lightest charges you can get, public intox, besides D.U.S, Driving Under Suspension. I can only imagine how actual long staying inmates, or repeat offenders, are being treated. At least I got too stay in my nice American Eagle dress shirt and jeans, I'm fortunate for that right? Not really, I would rather have an orange jumpsuit with Constitutional rights, than get too stay in my nice, expensive, street clothes with no Constitutional rights.
Essentially, every single Correctional Officer was unprofessional or rude, I observed an African-American female Correctional Officer at one point sitting in a chair eating popcorn outside of an inmate's cell eating snacks having a conversation with him as if it were almost the relationship level, discussing things such as what exercises she is currently working on, yet when I ask her for a phone call, I am ignored. At one point in the night a "Sergeant" came up too my window when I was looking out it with my head rested on the palm of my hand, with me calmly looking out the cell window, say to me, if you threaten my Correctional Officer again, I'm going to file State Charges on you! I put two fingers behind my ear to push my ear forward due to the fact it was hard to hear him with all the echo, but I said, "Excuse me, what did you say? What are you talking about?" He said, "You heard what the fuck I said" as he was walking off. At no point, under any circumstance, in any way, shape, or form, did I threaten a Correctional Officer, look at the Cameras.
Two other female Correctional Officers finally came up too me the 20 hours later, the next day, a Caucasian one and an African-American one, the African-American one being different that the aforementioned one, which I would come to find out later were the two that finally booked me. Nonetheless, they asked me if I was ready to process now, I said, what are you talking about? I was ready to process hours ago, or better yet I could have gotten a phone call. She got instantly rude and said, "If you would shut the fuck up and let me fucking talk" I will tell you, as soon as she said that the African-American Correctional Officer rolled her eyes and walked away, the Caucasian Officer said, you get your phone call when you are booked in, you were being belligerent earlier so we couldn't book you in, too which I said, no I was not! She then walked away, several more hours pass, It was clear to me at this point, after being there for 24 hours on a simple municipal public intoxication ticket, that they all told one another to give me "special treatment." At no point during my stay was I ever aggressive or peaceful. Having PTSD, I cannot describe too you the helpless, panic stricken, anxiety feeling, that I started having after being there for hours upon hours, being treated like I was.
Too summarize, this facility is doing things that are illegal, the cell conditions are terrible, the way inmates are treated is wrong, the booking procedures are a joke, where they book you out two hours before your release so you can't get a phone call, the staff is completely unprofessional, and at the end of all that they will take cash from you. I had a $20 dollar bill that was in my pocket, when I was getting released they gave me $5 dollars back cash. I said what happened to my $20 dollar bill? Too which they pointed to a sign and said all inmates have to pay $15 dollars for Medical Triage, so I was not given a chance to be billed for that, or make a payment arrangement. That was money for me to take a taxi too get back to my residence in Edmond, Oklahoma. Something needs to be done about this, it is absolutely a joke. Thanks for taking the time for reading this.
Haines
