|
May 1, 2019 CBS12 News
Investigates
Missing child support payments: it’s a crime that cost one Palm Beach
County man his life after a violent van ride to jail. Steven Galack was one of thousands transported by a private,
for-profit extradition company each year. Law enforcement agencies across
the country outsource these transports to cut costs. CBS12 News
Investigates uncovered questions about inmate safety, allegations of abuse,
and even inmate deaths on transport vehicles.
STEVEN GALACK’S STORY
Suffering from chronic pain,
mental health issues, and a recent divorce, Steven Galack
moved from Ohio to Florida for a fresh start. In the summer of 2012, at the
age of 46, he was living with his mother in a Delray Beach apartment
complex. Deputies from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office responded to
his apartment to investigate a noise complaint from a neighbor. They did
not find a reason to investigate the noise complaint further, but when they
ran Galack’s name, they found a warrant out for
his arrest in Ohio for four counts of missing child support payments.
Deputies took him into custody
and brought him to the Palm Beach County Jail to start the extradition
process back to Butler County, Ohio for court.
THE TRANSPORT
Because Butler County, Ohio, has
an agreement with a private company to perform extraditions, Galack was loaded onto a van operated by Prison
Transportation Services of America (PTS).
Private prison transport
companies like PTS pick up inmates and transport them across state lines,
dropping off and picking up new people along the way. PTS picked up Galack at the jail in West Palm Beach on July 30, 2012.
There were several other inmates riding in the transport van with him.
In video depositions obtained by
CBS12 News Investigates, the other passengers said Galack
appeared fine when he was picked up, but started
to deteriorate as the van made a crisscrossing trip through Florida, up to
Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. “I was concerned about his mental health,”
Joseph Allen testified. “This man was really slipping,
and didn’t even know what world he was in and the guards didn’t even
care,” he said. Another prisoner, Chelsie Hogsett,
said Galack repeatedly asked for help. “He was in
a lot of pain,” she said. “He asked to go to the hospital. He kept saying
he was going to die and he needed to go to a
hospital.” A civil lawsuit filed by the Galack
family against PTS alleges the guards on the transport were made aware of Galack’s prescription medication. The complaint states
that PTS employees never gave him the medication he needed. Instead, the
lawsuit states, they gave him a beating. Hogsett
and Allen testified that they witnessed one of the guards
punch Galack in the face to try and keep him
quiet. When he continued to have outbursts, the inmates said the guards
instructed the other prisoners in the van to join the assault. “I remember
hearing [the guard] say, ‘No head shots, just body shots,” Hogsett said. They said after the beatings, Galack became quiet and slumped over in the van. When
the transport arrived in Tennessee, PTS employees realized he wasn’t
sleeping. Galack had no pulse, the lawsuit said.
“I told [the guard] Galack didn’t look right,” said
Allen. “I said, ‘You might need to check on him’. [The guard] put his
fingers right there [for a pulse] and said the words ‘Oh s***”.
THE LAWSUITS
According to Steven Galack’s death certificate, a medical examiner could
not determine the cause of death. The Galack
family blames PTS. In a statement, his ex-wife Kristin told CBS12 News
Investigates: The death of Steven left a huge hole in all
of our lives. PTS treated him like a piece of trash. But he was a
father, a brother, a son and loved by so many. All PTS cared about was
getting him from Florida to Ohio no matter the worst which included the
brutal death of Steven. There needs to be changes and regulations for these
transportation companies or there will continue to be more deaths. CBS12
News Investigates made multiple attempts to reach PTS and its attorneys for
comment. No one responded. The Galack family
settled their lawsuit against PTS for a confidential amount. Our
investigation found that they were not alone. CBS12 News Investigates
uncovered 40 other lawsuits against PTS from former inmates. The
allegations range from physical abuse, to sexual abuse, to a lack of
medical care, bathroom breaks and water. In two cases, inmates suffering
from stomach ulcers on the transport van allegedly did not receive medical
attention.
They both died on the van. There
are five documented cases of inmates dying in PTS custody.
CONCERNS RAISED BY CONGRESS
U.S. Representative Ted Deutch (D-Boca) said the death of the Steven Galack alerted him to issues in the private prison
transport industry. Since 2016, he has been asking the Department of
Justice to investigate companies like PTS. “People are treated worse than
furniture when furniture is moved,” Congressman Deutch
said. Last February, Deutch joined U.S. Senators
Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker and sent a letter to PTS President Joel
Brasfield asking for information about their policies and procedures to
ensure that PTS and its subsidiaries are complying with federal
regulations. The letter asks how many inmates have died, experienced
medical emergencies, been sexually assaulted, or abused in PTS custody
between 2008 and 2018. Congressman Deutch said
the company responded with limited detail. “The only thing we have been
told is that they ‘follow best practices,” said Congressman Deutch. He said his next step may be looking at
legislation to strengthen regulations and enforcement for private prison
transportation companies. “If it’s your family member who is being
transported and is hoping to have the ability to defend himself or herself
and never has the chance because they die while being transported, I think
most people would agree that’s a terrible outcome,” Congressman Deutch said. “It shouldn’t be tolerated.”
Annapolis, Maryland
February 5, 2009 AP
A private prison transportation company lost an attempted-murder suspect
somewhere between Florida and Pennsylvania, leading to a search for the
cuffed and shackled inmate and drawing complaints that such companies are
poorly regulated. The discovery today was at least the second escape in six
months involving an inmate being moved by Prisoner Transportation Services
of America LLC. Still, industry critics said the major issue is not
escapes, but mistreatment of inmates and poor traveling conditions. Authorities
searched for the suspect who escaped late Wednesday or early Thursday while
en route from Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Sylvester Mitchell, 33, was being
extradited to face attempted murder charges in Philadelphia, where he once
lived. He was gone when the van arrived at 3 a.m. today at a police
station. Authorities said it was unclear how or where Mitchell escaped.
Other inmates and guards said they don't remember seeing him after the
van's previous stop in Annapolis, Md. Prisoner Transportation Services, based
in Nashville, Tenn., says it is the largest U.S. firm of its type, moving
more than 100,000 inmates nationwide each year. The company states on its
Web site that its agents are highly trained and "most have military
and/or criminal justice backgrounds." A spokesman for Prisoner
Transportation Services, who declined to identify himself before hanging
up, said today that the company had no comment. A shackled inmate escaped
in September at Philadelphia International Airport while in the custody of a
Prisoner Transportation Services guard and was captured a week later in
Elkton, Md. Taariq Ali, 43, formerly of
Wilmington, Del., was serving a life sentence for attempted murder and a
weapons charge. He was transferred in 1995 to California and was being
returned to Delaware when he escaped Sept. 12. The Delaware Department of
Corrections said at the time that Prisoner Transportation Services did not
notify state officials until two days later. The state uses private
contractors because it is not authorized to move prisoners across state
lines. Corrections spokesman John Painter said today that the department is
"no longer involved with Prisoner Transportation Services" but
declined to say whether it was using a new contractor or had transferred
any prisoners since the September escape. Though prisoner mistreatment
appears to be more commonplace than escapes in transit, the lack of
oversight and regulation of the industry makes it difficult to determine
how widespread problems are, said Margaret Winter, associate director of
the ACLU National Prison Project in Washington. Because they are privately
owned, prison transportation companies are not required to release data on
escapes, accidents and numbers of inmates they transfer. It's also unclear
exactly how many such companies exist, because many are "thinly
staffed, fly-by-night operations" that quickly close
up shop when they're sued, Winter said. "One thing that's clear
is that the goal with all these companies is to pick up as many bodies
along the way as they can to squeeze out the most profits," she said.
"We've had many reports of prisoners being taken on weeks-long
odysseys and not getting food, water or medical attention." A phone
message left for a spokesman of the Association of Private Correctional and
Treatment Organizations, an industry group, was not immediately returned.
February 5, 2009 CBS3
Sylvester Mitchell, 33, escaped while being transported from Philadelphia
to Florida on February 5. Police are searching for a prisoner who went
missing while being transported from Florida to Philadelphia. Authorities
said 33-year-old Sylvester Mitchell found missing from a private prison
transportation company van when it arrived at 21st and Hamilton Streets at
about 3 a.m. Thursday. Mitchell, who was wanted on attempted murder
charges, was last seen by guards and fellow inmates during a stop in
Annapolis, Maryland. He was last wearing a bright orange vest and slacks. A
multi-state search is currently underway for the inmate. If you have any
information, please contact Philadelphia Police.
Delaware
Department of Corrections
September 17, 2008 AP
A shackled inmate serving a life term for attempted murder escaped from
a private security guard while getting off a commercial flight at
Philadelphia International Airport, police and corrections officials said.
Delaware Department of Corrections officials said they were notified Sunday
about Friday night's escape of Taariq Ali, 43,
and the department has suspended all interstate transport of prisoners
until it determines how the escape occurred. Philadelphia airport police
said Ali was still at large Tuesday. Following the escape, Delaware's
corrections commissioner, Carl Danberg, also
activated an emergency response team to aid in search for Ali. Thor Catalogne, a spokesman for Prisoner Transportation
Services of America, the Nashville, Tenn., company that was transporting
Ali, referred all questions to Delaware corrections officials. Ali was able
to escape despite being handcuffed to a waist chain and was last seen wearing
a white T-shirt and khaki pants, the Department of Corrections said. Ali
was convicted of attempted murder in Delaware in 1995 and was sent to
California under a prisoner exchange agreement. He was being transported
back to Delaware when he escaped, the department said. Corrections
spokesman John Painter said transfers have been stopped "because
there's entirely too many unanswered questions about how this
happened." Painter said the delay in reporting the escape was among
the department's concerns. The corrections spokesman said there have only
been 10 such transfers since 2004, all of which have gone without incident
except for Friday's escape. The transfers are usually made because of
"real or perceived security threats." Painter said he was not
aware of any other problems with the company, adding the department uses
outside contractors because it is not authorized to move prisoners across
state lines. The company was also involved in a January 2007 escape in
which an inmate later stole a tractor-trailer in an
attempt to see his dying mother.
Hamilton County Jail,
Hamilton County, Ohio
November 21, 2011 Local 12
The search is over for a prisoner who escaped from a private jail van
during a transfer. Cincinnati Police captured Jose Ramon Fernandez at noon today
in Mount Auburn. There were actually two men who
escaped Sunday night around 11:30 p.m. They were being transferred in a
private prison vehicle carrying prisoners from around the country. Court
documents indicate the men kicked out the side door of the vehicle at
Reading and Sycamore Streets -- right by the jail. They had slipped out of
their handcuffs. One of the prisoners, 36 year old
Walter Rode of Dalton, Georgia, was caught about a block away but
overpowered the security person and continued to run. He was then tracked
by a police canine unit at 12th and Sycamore Streets-and rearrested. He's
now facing an escape charge.
November 21,
2011 Local 12
The search continues this morning for a prisoner who escaped from a private
jail van during a transfer. There were actually two
men who escaped Sunday night around 11:30 p.m. They were being transferred
in a private prison vehicle carrying prisoners from around the country.
Court documents indicate the men kicked out the side door of the vehicle at
Reading and Sycamore Streets -- right by the jail. They had slipped out of
their handcuffs. One of the prisoners, 36 year old
Walter Rode of Dalton, Georgia, was caught about a block away but
overpowered the security person and continued to run. He was then tracked
by a police canine unit at 12th and Sycamore Streets-and rearrested. He's
now facing an escape charge. Officers say the second man, Jose Ramon
Hernandez of Fort Meyers, Florida, is still at-large. Officers have not
said what charges the men face originally. Court documents indicate
Hernandez was en route to a jail in Florida. Police have not released a
photo of Hernandez. Sheriff officials say the private jail van was in
Hamilton County to deliver an inmate from Newport, Kentucky on drug
charges. That prisoner was taken to the Hamilton County Justice Center
without incident.
Florida
Department of Corrections
At age 54, Denise Isaacs
suffered from a slew of ailments, including bipolar disorder, anxiety and
chronic abdominal pain. Yet Isaacs, who was wanted in Southwest Florida on
a probation violation for shoplifting, was crammed into a stuffy transport
van with 10 other shackled inmates for a nearly 1,000-mile trip from
Kentucky to Punta Gorda. “I knew she wouldn’t be be able to make a trip like that because of her
weakness and pain,” said her daughter, Kallie Isaacs, of Lexington,
Kentucky. But her family never believed that the rigors of the journey
might kill her. Isaacs earlier this month was found slumped over dead
inside the van — operated by Tennessee-based Prisoner Transportation
Services of America through a contract with the Charlotte County Sheriff’s
Office — during a stop at a West Miami-Dade Taco Bell restaurant. Her case
offers a window into the little-publicized world of private inmate-transport
companies. And it has now spurred a law enforcement investigation into
whether the transport officers provided her with proper care and attention
during the grueling two-day road trip. According to sources with knowledge
of the investigation, Isaacs is believed to have acted strangely throughout
the trip — apparently suffering hallucinations — while drinking little
water and refusing a meal during a stop in Orlando. And when the two
transport officers finally saw that she was unresponsive in the Taco Bell
parking lot, they first called their superiors in Tennessee. Only after
unsuccessfully trying to revive her did the officers dial 911, sources
said. The cause of death remains unknown. An autopsy of Isaacs has so far
proved inconclusive while the Miami-Dade Medical Examiner’s Office awaits
the results of more tests. Company representatives did not return repeated
calls from the Miami Herald seeking comment. The company bills itself as
the “nation’s largest prisoner extradition company and one of the largest
international transporters of detainees.” According to the company, it
transports more than 10,000 detainees each year for law enforcement across
the country. “We can move your prisoner at less cost than if you did it
yourself,” the company’s website boasts. A spokeswoman for the Charlotte
County Sheriff’s Office, which contracts Prisoner Transportation Services
for extraditing inmates, said she could not comment about the company until
her counterparts at the Miami-Dade Police Department finish their investigation.
The Charlotte Sheriff’s Office runs the jail in Punta Gorda.
Prisoner Transportation Services has not escaped scrutiny in recent years.
Last year, two company agents left their transport van unattended in
Oklahoma, and the inmates broke through a partition and drove off. The
eight prisoners were later recaptured. In 2009, the company lost two
inmates in high-profile escapes during a six-month span. One man accused of
attempted murder vanished from a transport van somewhere between Fort
Lauderdale and Philadelphia. In the other case, Delaware’s prison system
cut ties with the company after a shackled inmate en route to the state
escaped at an airport. The Miami incident raises questions about whether
the company had proper procedures and training — vital concerns often
overlooked by governments looking to save money by outsourcing vital public
safety functions, said Donald Cohen, the executive director of In the
Public Interest, a nonprofit that studies privatization. “They let someone
die on their watch, and this should not have happened,” Cohen said. As for
Isaacs, she had lived in Punta Gorda with her
father for several years. In August 2012, she was arrested on a grand theft
charge after police said she stole $1,200 worth of merchandise from a Port
Charlotte Wal-Mart. She pleaded no contest and was given 18 months of
probation plus a “withhold of adjudication,” which means no conviction
appeared on her record. According to her daughter, Isaacs had recently
returned to her native Kentucky, still under corrections supervision. “She
was my best friend. We lived together. She would just make me laugh all
day. She had the biggest heart ever,” Kallie Isaacs said. “We had plans for
Thanksgiving and Christmas. She wasn’t done living yet.” Then in August,
the Florida Department of Corrections found that Isaacs had violated her
probation. The reason: She had failed to complete 200 hours of community
service and owed $607.98 in court fines. Authorities in Kentucky arrested
Isaacs and booked her into Fayette County Detention Center in Lexington.
Even before her jailing and throughout her time behind bars, Isaacs had
been suffering hallucinations, complaining that she had not been given her
psychiatric medications, her daughter said. Nonetheless, a Prisoner Transportation
Services Chevrolet passenger van picked her up in Kentucky on Sept. 14,
then headed south, collecting other inmates at detention centers in several
states. On the evening of Sept. 16, the van stopped at the Turner Guilford
Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade to pick up another inmate. In
all, eight male and three female inmates were in the van, separated from
the driver and accompanying company agent by a partition. Just before 10
p.m., company transport officers Kirk Westbrooks, 41, and Kenneth Adams,
41, stopped at the Taco Bell in the 3700 block of Northwest 79th Avenue in
Doral. That’s when Isaacs was discovered unconscious. Her daughter said
that a company representative, in a phone call afterward, insisted that
Isaacs had been medically cleared for the trip. “They shouldn’t have let
her make the trip in that condition, knowing she was not eating, knowing
she was hallucinating,” Kallie Isaacs said, tearfully. “They should have
left her here and given her medical attention.”
La
Crosse, Wisconsin
June 12, 2006 La Crosse Tribune
Four days after he escaped from a prisoner transport van, 19-year-old
Phillip Dunn of West Salem, Wis., was arrested late Saturday night in the
basement of a home on Farnam Street, La Crosse
police said Sunday. Dunn was hiding behind a washing machine when Lt. Jim
Ballas and another officer arrested him at about 10 p.m., Ballas said in an
interview. “He gave us no resistance,” Ballas said. “We’d been getting
leads every day” since the escape, Ballas said. “He had a tent and was
moving around the South Side,” apparently camping out in different
locations. Police spotted the tent in a yard Saturday, and later learned
Dunn was inside the nearby home of a man who didn’t know who Dunn was.
Ballas thanked the public for the tips police received, and the news media
for keeping the search for Dunn in the news. “Our officers did a good job,”
Ballas said, including those who quickly apprehended the first two
escapees. Dunn jumped from a prisoner transport van about 5 p.m. Tuesday at
a stoplight at Rose and Clinton streets, along with two other prisoners who
were recaptured less than two blocks away. The van, operated by Prisoner
Transportation Services of America, LLC, an independent company based in
Nashville, Tenn., was carrying six prisoners when the escape occurred.
|
