We grow weary of having to deal with the unprofessionalism of some Florida
officers, excuse me, guards. This prisoner is facing a mountain of what appears to be lying staff who plan to hurt him and prevent him from ever going home by bringing false charges against him. Why would they do this? Because he stands up for his rights? Because he utilizes a lousy grievance system that the administration likes to brag solves all problems, but is really the source of many problems? If a prisoner is to rehabilitate, with or without the system's help, men like Sgt. Kent and his gang of ruffians must be forced to either become professionals or they must be forced out of the department.
Saturday, January 10, 2004
Kevin transferred from Union where he had no obvious problems, but he has been at Columbia for months now. Just a couple of days after he wrote this, he checked himself into protective custody. All of his other attempts have been thwarted, as you will read in his letter.
He said he did want his name on the story...He is already in protective custody (at his request)...
His sister and her children had come to visit him from Tennessee about a week before he wrote the story...They got there at 2PM and only had a hour, but were going to return a week or two later on their trip back out of state, but I don't know if they got to with him being in protection. He was at his wits end, not knowing who to go to for help! He wrote his story Sunday night and went to PC a few days later. He was asking about a faith-based dorm, saying he would like to read through the whole Bible before he gets out of prison, and then it came out about what he was going through.
Please contact one of the chaplains, asking them to please visit this guy to see if he is okay, Thanks, Kay!
The Kevin
Zicheck Story
12-28-2003
This story deals with the corruption here at Columbia CI, and includes constant harassment and threats of being set-up with knives, dope and beatings. I fell victim to this about two months ago.
I arrived here at Columbia CI on 8-29-03. On the same day, and again on 9-18-03, I was issued a medical pass from Columbia medical staff to help relieve pain and suffering from two herniated disks in my lower back.
However, on 10-1-03, I was transferred to Columbia CI Work Camp where I was immediately harassed for having these passes because I could not do the constituted work like the other inmates. Officer Hall, Officer Brady and Sgt. Haulton stated, "Once Sgt. Kent gets ahold of you, you will no longer have these medical passes and you'll be forced to work."
One or two weeks later, I was sent to medical for a shaving pass evaluation by another doctor. I left the office and Officer Brady went in and talked to the doctor. When I went back in, I was told all of my medical passes had been revoked. No evaluation was done, nothing.
When I returned to the work camp, Sgt. Haulton and Officer Brady were laughing, letting me know how much pull Sgt. Kent had.
By Oct. 30th, during a dorm inspection, Sgt. Kent, Lt. Eley and Asst Walden Pattersen were inspecting the dorm. Sgt. Kent came straight to my bunk and ordered me to open my locker. He then reached in and grabbed my Oakley sunglasses, put them in his pocket and said, "I am taking these." I was never issued a property confiscation receipt for them.
Following their procedures, like I was told, I wrote it up and sent a grievance to the assistant warden, Lt. Eley, his boss and the inspector, telling them what happened.
The next day, Oct 31, Sgt. Haulton came to my dorm and told me I had a call-out to see classification.
When I arrived, Sgt. Kent was waiting for me around the corner from classification. He pulled me into the property room and turned the lights off, I assume for intimidation and to scare me. There was no one else in there. He had all the grievances I had written on him in his hand saying, "Anything you write on me goes to me first. You were so worried about your sunglasses, now you will lose more." He advised me that, "If you try to write me up, it will never make it out."
Sgt. Kent had been going through my inmate personal property file in the property room run by Officer Scippio, who stated later' "I have no knowledge of this. Officer Kent is assigned to outside grounds." I advised Officer Scippio that my clasp on my chain had broken and I needed to send it out to be repaired and I took it with me. Officer Kent saw this and confiscated my silver chain. He stated, "I will be back to take some more of my property." I wrote him up for that on 10-31-03.
On 11-2-03, Officer Kent had Sgt. Haulton lock me up for 'lying to staff' because I did not know the white lieutenant's name. Sgt. Haulton asked, "Which one? Sgt. Gailin?" I said, "I guess." He called Gailin and Gaiin sated that he had never spoke with me, so Sgt. Haulton locked me up.
While in the holding cell, Sgt. Kent, Sgt. Haulton, and Officer Brady kept coming back there harassing me with their comments, "You're a sissy-ass," etc. They said I should have let Sgt, Kent have my sunglasses and I wouldn't have had to go through this. "Now you will be locked up for 60 days and lose all your gaintime."
In confinement, the first night there, my cell was shook-down per Sgt. Kent's orders. I had a cellmate at the time named Wallace. The officers stated that they wanted me! They stole all my coffee, sugar, cream, and medications, and tore all my stuff up. They stated, "This is a bad place to be for 60 days, more if you write this up."
I was found innocent of 'lying to staff' two days later, on 11/4/03. I was then placed in A-Dorm - A2-102s, and assigned as a houseman. Within the first week, Sgt. Kent had called over to the dorm to Officer Dever, and told her that he wanted my house tore apart, "and anything you can find that he might not be able to have, take it!" Afterward I asked her why she had done this, was there something I had done to p*ss her off? She answered, "It wasn't my doing. I got a call from Sgt. Kent and he told me to "tear your cell apart."
The next week the same thing happened again. Then I was advised all of a sudden, that I was fired - she said she had too many housemen, even though the following week she hired like four more.
At the beginning of December, I was advised by Officer Lambert that Sgt. Kent had "put a hit out on you and is trying to find someone to set you up with a knife, dope, etc, so they can send you to CM." He said that I had written the wrong person up.
On 12-5-03, Officer Dever shook me down again and took my jar of peanut butter, long johns, braces, etc. She said that she sent my peanut butter to the kitchen to see if it was their's. A week or two later, the kitchen said she never sent it to them, but that she had given it to one of her housemen.
On 12-8-03, while returning from the rec-yard, three housemen stopped me and said, "Sgt. Kent, Officer Dever and Officer Stencil tore your whole bunk apart and flipped your locker over." They told me the officers were kicking on the lock trying to break it open. After several attempts, the officer's had the locker called into the officer's station. That's when the housemen heard loud banging from inside the officer's station. When a few of them went up there, they observed Sgt. Kent with a piece of metal in his hand repeatedly beating my lock trying to break in.
When I returned at 10:45am, I saw the damage done. I advised Officer Dever that someone had stole my locker. She stated that she had it placed in the officer's station after lunch. I advised her that I needed to get into it to take my medication, brush my teeth and get some smokes to last me the rest of the day. She stated, "Sgt. Kent told me that you are not to go in it. When I advised Captain Brannon when the yard released to rec, he stated "You are not to talk bad about my officers," and said that I "better haul ass!"
At 3:00pm, coming in from rec. I still did not have my locker.
At 4:00pm, shift changed. I was told that I could come get it.
When I went to get the locker, I noticed that my lock had dents in it and was loose and had damage done to it. "What happened to my lock," I asked Officer Dever. She told me that she [Officer Dever] didn't "have time for this." I asked her if I could receive an incident report. She said, "No." When I asked why I had been denied my locker all day, she called the sergeant on duty and told him that I was harassing her and wouldn't leave her alone. She told the sergeant that if I came back up there again for him to lock me up.
I again wrote grievances, complaining of the harassment. I asked why Sgt. Kent was over here when he works over at the work camp.
On 12-9-03, while leaving the dining hall, I observed Sgt. Kent and Sgt. McGlue (sp) standing out in front of the dining hall. A I walked past, Sgt. Kent tapped Sgt. McGlue on the arm and pointed to me stating, "That is the one I want." I also have witnesses to that.
On 12-12-03, Officer Lambert once again told me to "watch your ass." He said "Kent is pissed at you for writing him up and he wants you, so you need to start looking under your bed and mattress."
On 12-15-03, I came in from afternoon rec around 3:15pm. I sat on the bunk to talk to Inmate Doyle, who said, "Kent was here looking for you. He just left." Then he said, "Don't turn around now, but here he comes." Once at my bunk, he ordered Doyle to "get somewhere, leave!" He then ordered me to unlock my locker. He started throwing all my property out of my locker. He also took Inmate Doyle's glasses he had left on my locker. He took my back brace and ankle wrap, even though I had passes for them. He dumped all my clothes on the floor then ordered me into the laundry room, then to the officer's station where Officer Dever and Officer Stencil were. He was threatening me, telling me that if he received one more grievance about him, I would "find out what a real ass beating is!" Then Officer Dever told him I wrote her up too, and Officer Kent stated to me that if he finds out I wrote her up, the same thing would happen.
Officer Dever was holding what looked like an ice pick or shank. Officer Stencil was wearing his batting gloves so as to intimidate me, saying "I can beat you and not leave any marks." Sgt Kent was saying, "I hate a convict before they commit their crime, while they are here, and when they get out." He then ordered me to get rid of my lock because he could not get in it as I only had one key. He said, "I will be back," telling me that if I did not purchase a cheap combination lock that he has access to, I would be locked up.
I know this is for the sole purpose of planting a knife in my locker, so when I come in from rec one day, I will be shook down and they will 'find it' in my locked locker.
I have two keys to my lock and on 12-8-03, Sgt. Kent called Sgt. Davis to obtain my extra key but was denied. Sgt. Kent also stated, "I don't give a shit if you have a whole dorm of witnesses - ALL INMATES LIE!" He has two officers that will lie for him, that will say he was never here on 12-17-03.
I went to the library until 4:00pm shift change. When I came back, a lot of inmates said that Sgt. Kent had been here looking for me at 3:00pm when they came in from rec.
On 12-22-03, Sgt. Kent and Sgt. Haultin were standing in the roadway by the laundry when I was returning from the property room. Sgt. Haulton said to Sgt. Kent, "Here comes your buddy, Zicheck." Kent stated, "That dumbass. He don't even know what is going on or what is even going to happen to him."
On 12-24-03, I was advised by Officer Dever to report to the Captain's office. Where he stated, "To be blunt, if I hear of you writing another grievance, you will receive far more pain than Sgt. Kent can give you. Sgt. Kent and others take orders from me. Me and Kent are like worts, if you keep picking at it, we can fester and you won't like it!"
To be honest, I don't think I have much time left here. Something real bad is going to happen to me. I have tried calling and emailing the warden etc to no avail. When my mom called, she was put through to the assistant warden, and Sgt. Kent was there. They told her they would 'handle it.'
I was called out on 12-9-03 to talk to Assistant Warden Patterson, who basically said that I was lucky I had someone out there who really cared for me and loves me, because if I didn't, who knew what would happen to me? Basically it sounded like a threat, but he advised me that "Kent is at the work camp and you are over here, so there should be no problem."
The problem is worse now, and everyone I talk to has failed to help. The inspector General, Warden McRae, the inspector, no one wants to help. I wrote to Tallahassee, to FDLE, to the Attorney General, but for all I know, all my mail is not even getting to them. At least there's been no answers.
HELP!
Kevin G. Zicheck
103773 A2-102
Columbia CI
216 SE Corrections Way
Lake City, FL 32025
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I mailed severqal copies of this story into Columbia. One recipient did not get their copy.
A number of prisoners reported seeing Kent talking to Officer Lambert, the officer who had tried to warn Kevin, after the copies arrived. You have to understand, in the department, stopping a bad guard is not rewarded, but instead this officer will now be in trouble with his peers, the higher-ups and may be ostracized, terrorized or fired. And now he will be afraid to help or warn another inmate and real trouble could happen! We will be watching Officer Lambert's progress in the department.
Doesn't it speak volumes to you when an officer trying to keep something bad from happening has as much to fear from errant guards as the prisoners and families do? And everyone is a liar but the one who is being accused? Officer Lambert did nothing but encourage the inmate to pay attention. The same as dozens of other people did. Why have trouble when you don't need it? But people like Kent who won't take responsibility for their actions always lay blame on someone else and this time it will be Officer Lambert. And of course Kevin, for airing the whole issue to begin with.
The Inspector General's Office, feeling there is no evidence to warrant an investigation, has turned their back on the situation. However, as more and more reports about Sgt. Kent comes in we will continue to make the Inspector General and others aware of his unprofessional and sometimes criminal behavior (planting evidence) until such time as they take the action they are required to take (investigate all allegations of misdeeds).
James Crosby, where are you? All you have to do is issue a serious ultimatum to every employee and have the wardens reiterate: "BE PROFESSIONAL! DON'T BREAK THE RULES OF THE DEPARTMENT! DON'T USE YOUR POSITION TO COMMIT CRIMES UNDER THE COLOR OF MY UNIFORM OR YOU ARE OUTTA HERE!" If you said that loud, clear, and publicly, and meant it, all this would stop. All the lying, the coverups, setups, harassment and brutality would STOP.
Kay Lee