GGW: Guards Gone Wild

Delaware is the Secrecy State. Especially when it comes to actions by so-called enforcement officers of every stripe. Keeping secrets is one way of controlling the narrative, as in blaming everything on the actions of those who are being ‘enforced upon’.  Which is precisely what has happened in the aftermath of the uprising at the Vaughn Correctional Center which, remember kids, took place in February of 2017, almost two years ago.

We now know that there was also a riot by correctional officers, who beat prisoners who had nothing to do with the uprising. We know that any evidence of these beatings no longer exists, if it ever did. We only know this b/c of testimony in the latest trial of inmates charged in the death of corrections officer Stephen Floyd. Xerxes Wilson does a great job of telling a story that needs to be told. When you read it, just remember that John Carney and several state officials have been aware of this for a long time, but have kept it from the public, all the while pushing the ‘Stephen Floyd will not have died in vain’ meme. It has colored public opinion on this matter which is anything but (pardon the allusion) black and white. Many of these officers were perpetrators, moreso than the inmates who had nothing to do with the uprising.  Here are some takes from Wilson’s story:

The hostage standoff lasted 18 hours and ended in minutes when dozens of tactical police flooded the building, rescued a hostage and found correctional officer Steven Floyd dead.

In that hour that followed, some inmates remaining in cells in the building “didn’t comply” with police orders to get to the ground, testified Lt. Brian Vanes, who commanded the force that blitzed the building. 

“The team would utilize force to gain compliance,” said Vanes, appearing as a witness in the ongoing murder trial of four inmates…

…Vanes said his team’s actions were justified, and police policy has changed since. The necessity and nature of police actions’ were not documented at the time nor described in great detail during the testimony.  

Questions about the team’s conduct beg for answers as to whether innocent inmates rights were trampled, whether top officials have hidden those violations and whether taxpayers may pay another multimillion settlement tied to how state leaders administered the prison before and after the uprising. 

Let me just add another question to the concerns raised by Wilson.  Did Carney send some inmates out of state to keep them away from prying eyes and questions by lawyers?

BTW, did you notice the seeming contradiction in what Vanes said?  “…(H)is team’s actions were justified, and police policy has changed since”.  Does that mean that it was OK for police to beat to beat the shit out of inmates in February 2017, but it’s no longer OK to beat the shit out of them now?  Keep in mind, we’re talking about inmates who had nothing to do with the uprising.

Also, keep in mind that the state is trying a whole lot of inmates for murder when there is  no proof as to who really did the deed. 

This is a massive scandal that will not end well for the state.  Carney and his enablers kept this from the public for two years. Will anybody other than the courts do anything about this?  My prediction? No.