I had only $490 sent to me in the last six months (this would have been only $450, but one of my friends sent me some money unexpectedly for my birthday). The IFRP policy requires that $450 be subtracted from all deposits in the previous six months, and that only the remaining funds be «considered» for FRP payments. That meant that the $25 per quarter (i.e. $50 for six months) was $10 over what policy allows. This is what I questioned Mr. Shepherd about.
Mr. Shepherd said he'd have to have me «pulled out» (i.e. escorted to the Unit Team office area) in order to «discuss» it. I said, «Okay.» And he closed the slot and left. I assumed I would be «pulled out» shortly, so I got my copy of the FRP policy from my locker, then sat down and wrote out a «Request for Informal Resolution», in anticipation that the «discussion» would not result in compliance with the IFRP policy. Then I stayed awake, even thought I was very tired, waiting for a guard to come cuff me up and take me downstairs to the office area.
After a couple of hours go by I become convinced that Mr. Shepherd and Mr. Edwards have screwed me over again the way they did at my last six-month review, by claiming that I «refused» a contract that they never even offered me. That time I had only $400 in the previous six months, so I was well under the $450 allowance. But, I have e-mails from Mr. Shepherd in which he claims I was offered $25 per quarter payments, and that I refused. Mr. Shepherd lied. So, I thought he was going to lie again and say I refused again. Thus, I'd be restricted to spending only $25 per month for commissary --- barely enough to buy coffee, sweetener, and hygiene supplies, and not much else, for another six months. So, when I saw Mr. Shepherd walk past my cell at about 11:30, I asked him about the «Team Review». He said that he'd requested that I be pulled out two hours ago, but «they» hadn't done so yet. So I told Mr. Shepherd, «I'm not refusing the FRP plan.» And he said, «Okay.»
At a little after 11:00 a.m., the unit c/o's brought lunch, as usual. Then at 11:20, or so, Mr. Edwards came to my cell door and told me he was pulling me out for «Team». He cuffed me through the tray slot with my hands in front of me, but without the mandated waist-chain that is supposed to be used when cuffing an inmate «in-front» for hearings and such. He then escorted me by himself (I'm supposed to have two c/o's on all escorts, down from three for the first two years I was here) down to the Unit Team office.
In the hall outside of the office, I saw a c/o sitting at the end of the hall, apparently monitoring an inmate legal visit (the office area is also where the visiting rooms are). I heard this c/o say, «You're a piece of shit,» as he often does when he sees me. I ignored the comment, and apparently so did Mr. Edwards, as expected.
Mr. Shepherd was sitting at the table in the conference area. I sat in the inmate chair, and Mr. Edwards went into his office and returned with the FRP contract which he laid on the table as he sat down across from Shepherd and to my right. He asked, «What's your question about the contract?»
I pulled out my copy of the policy and started to explain what it said about subtracting $450, but Mr. Edwards got up and went into his office again, apparently not even listening to me. So, I turned my attention to Mr. Shepherd, and said very plainly, «Look, I'm not trying to 'demand' anything here. I'm only 'asking' you to comply with policy. And policy says...», and then I read the part that I already explained above.
As I finished, Mr. Edwards returned from his office and asked, «How much are you willing to pay?» as he sat back down in front of the contract still on the table (literally). I said, «According to policy, the most I should pay is $40 for this review period.» Mr. Edwards then insisted that $25 per quarter is the «minimum payment» unless the six-month deposits are under $450 (which I knew was not what the policy said, and was different from what Mr. Shepherd told me in an e-mail the last time – when I had only $400 deposited – he said I had to be «indigent» before I was exempt; another lie; I also knew – from reviewing old six-month review «packages» - that I had been exempt in the past when I had $500 in six months). It was obvious to me that Mr. Edwards and Mr. Shepherd wanted to make me pay something, even if they had to cheat and lie in order to do it. So, I should have cut my losses and agreed to the shake-down then and there, but I gave one more small «push», and said, «How much do you think I should pay from the $40, which is all you're supposed to be 'considering' at this point?»
I knew, and Edwards knew, and I knew that Edwards knew, but I pretended I didn't know, that the computer system did not allow for payments of less than $25 per quarter. I think that's what pissed Mr. Edwards off; and it certainly was the reason he was lying and cheating (i.e. going against policy) in order to keep me from «getting away» without paying my «just debt» (as Mr. Shepherd put it in one of his e-mails to me the last time they lied and cheated in order to «punish» me for not having more than $450 sent to me in six months). And it was also the reason I so foolishly insisted one last time that Mr. Edwards «re-evaluate» my payments according to policy. I was trying to force his hand, like the idiot I am.
So, without warning, Mr. Edwards suddenly signed the contract himself, as «refused», and said: «You refuse then!» I said: «No, I'm not refusing. I'll sign it, just let me! I was only questioning the amount.» But, he said: «Too late. You refuse.» And then he stood up and said: «Let's go, We're done.» I sat still for a moment in disbelief. The last time they lied and cheated through e-mails; this time they were doing it to my face! I really shouldn't have been so surprised, but I actually looked at Shepherd and pleaded, «Really?» as if he might actually take my side. He didn't, of course. In fact, he wrote me up (an «incident report» for disciplinary action) because of what I said next (though I didn't expect or even find out about this «write up» until the lieutenant served it to me a little later --- but, we'll get to that...).
Mr. Edwards was standing behind me now, and said, «Let's go. Now! ... Don't make me pick you up, because I will...» So, I gathered up my papers and said, «You guys are the pieces of shit, not me!» (finally reacting to the comment from the c/o out in the hall earlier, and losing my normal restraint due to being so tired and getting unexpectedly «shafted» to my face). Mr. Edwards replied by saying, «At least I don't like fucking little boys..», or something along those lines. I countered, «Yeah, you probably just like fucking yourself...» (I know, I was being stupid, but I was really tired, and frustrated, so what can I say?)
Then, at the SCU entrance security gate, while we were waiting for a c/o to come open the gate, I remembered the written request I had prepared in my cell earlier and brought with me. I said, «Oh yeah, I have a request for an Informal Resolution already made out,» as I fumbled through my papers with the cuffs on. I found it and pulled it out to hand to Edwards; he grabbed it out of my hand and crumpled it up (I didn't see what he did with it after that, but I assume he threw it away; in any case he didn't process it the way that USP policy said he, as Unit Counselor, was obligated to do), and as he did this he said: «I'm not going to do that.»
The gate opened, and as we proceeded through the unit hub, where numerous c/os were milling about (at least six or seven), I remember replying, «In that case I need a BP-9» (formal request form for Administrative Remedy; the next step after an Informal Resolution is unresolved), and he said, «Not from me, but somebody else will get you one I'm sure.» (As I'm writing what I remember him saying it seems rather benign, but, at the time it felt very hostile; and this next part was definitely hostile, even bordering on verbal sexual assault!) I don't remember either of us saying anything as we ascended the stairs --- the same «blind spot» where another c/o threatened to «rip my head off» if I ever came out for rec (recreation, which we are allowed one hour a day, five days a week, but that I rarely use more than once a week to «re-validate» my MP3-player and check/send institutional electronic messages on the inmate computer system «TRULINCS») on his shift again (I have, and do come out for rec on his shift many times since, but I did avoid doing so for a while, and am always wary of this «blind spot» as a result of the threat).
At the top of the stairs, and I have no idea why Mr. Edwards said this, but he said: «I'll get you a broom and you can stick the handle in your ass.» But, I'm pretty sure why I responded with: «Okay, you do that and I will.» Edwards said: «You probably would.» And I said: «Yes, I would.» And I would to, which is why I said I would; because I'm always trying to be honest to a fault. (But, I also said so because the «conversation» closely mirrored the «conversation» I had with the c/o who threatened to rip my head off on the same stairs that Edwards and I had just traversed; which, of course, was on my mind given the similar circumstances. Only then the c/o threatened to «fuck» me in the ass, to which I responded: «I'd like that.» And he said: «I bet you would.» And I said: «Yes I would.» - again, only striving to be honest about it.)
When I got in my cell and the door closed, Mr. Edwards walked away, but another c/o came shortly and removed the cuffs. I told that c/o: «Tell the lieutenant that I was just assaulted by Mr. Edwards.» I was pretty upset by this point, and the mirror conversation near that «blind spot» made me feel threatened, and I just wanted the abuse to stop! The c/o said he'd tell the lieutenant, and left. I remember yelling at Edwards something about running his mouth like a coward but not doing anything (I really wanted him to do «something» on camera so I could be rid of him once and for all). Then I covered the window on my door (hoping a c/o or other staff would tell me to uncover my window, and wake me up, so I could repeat my request) and laid down to sleep --- I was still very tired after all.
A few minutes later, before I could even fall all the way asleep, I heard a c/o knocking on my door. «Uncover your window!» I think that's what he said, but I was half asleep, and thought it might be the LT. So I got up and uncovered the window, saw the c/o and asked him what he wanted. He said, «Let's go,» holding up a pair of cuffs, «..to see the lieutenant.» (kind of like, «to see the Wizard», since a visit with an LT is almost as rare around here. Apparently, yelling «assault» gets you «through the gate».)
And that's exactly where he took me. He cuffed me behind my back, then took me down the woeful stairs and across the hub to the entrance gate. The first thing I noticed was that the entire unit was suddenly deserted! The only people I saw at all was the c/o escorting me (who seemed non-threatening enough, but I knew looks can be deceiving), and the c/o upstairs at the lock-box who opened my cell door. That was it! No inmates in any of the rec-rooms or law libraries, and no other staff anywhere. I thought, «No witnesses», and actually started bracing myself mentally for the beating I was sure was about to come. I was even more sure when he lead me to the main entrance gate, opened it, then told me to step into a medical holding cell in the entrance foyer. I did as I was told, and (to my mild surprise) he removed my cuffs and said, «The lieutenant is on her way up and will be here shortly.»
I thought, «Yeah, right.» The escorting c/o left, so I sat on the floor with my back against the wall (this was a 7'x7' cell with no utilities or features, just three brick walls and bars on the front). I was thinking I was going to be here a long time (when I was in California they liked putting me in small cells like this for hours at a time, sometimes even days (with a hole in the ground to pee in) in order to «punish» me for things like asking for dental service). But, the same c/o returned shortly with a «BP-9» form and a pen. He said, «The LT wants you to write down what happened on here.» (A «BP-9» is a request for «Administrative Remedy».) At about the same time a friendly-looking young female nurse showed up and I heard her tell the c/o that she had to «examine» me. Only then did I realize that they were treating this as if I had been physically assaulted. So without writing anything on the BP-9 I just told the c/o and nurse that I had only been verbally assaulted, and that I was using the word «assaulted» according to my understanding of the phrase «assault and battery» (where «assault» is a verbal threat, and «battery» is any physical contact applied toward said threat). They both gave me a rhetorical: «Oh?» And then the c/o left again (apparently to inform the lieutenant of the new information). A moment later he returned again and told the nurse she didn't need to do the examination, but for some reason she didn't leave yet either. She remained just outside of the cell in the hall, and witnessed the following:
A group of guards appeared in front of the cell I was in. One of them was the c/o who called me a «piece of shit» earlier in the same hall. As he walked past (I was sitting on the floor again), he looked at me and said: «You fucking piece of shit!» I got up and stood facing the bars (so I could see where he was going, toward the counselor's office area) and said, «I sure wish you'd do something instead of running your mouth like a coward!» He spun around and came back toward the cell while pulling out his cell-keys (large over-sized security keys designed for heavy use) as though he was going to open the cell right there in front of everyone and attack me. The same «friendly» c/o who had escorted me to the holding cell jumped in front of him and said: «No, no, no.» But, I didn't step away from the bars. So, if he really wanted to «do something», he easily could have (the bars were plenty wide enough to throw a jab or two through), but he didn't. I did however make a mental note of the name on his shirt at this point, which he noticed me doing, and as he walked away at the behest of c/o «friendly», he said: «Just put my name on paper!» in a clearly threatening tone.
I knew, that by legal definition, I had once more just been «assaulted». And this time there was a staff witness other than the guards. I asked the nurse incredulously if she realized what she just witnessed. She seemed to indicate that, yes, she had to admit, she had just witnessed a «verbal assault». I then asked her specifically if she'd be willing to be a witness for me, and she said: «Well, I'll make my report...» (referring to her official «examination» report), which didn't promise much, but it was a help. So, I wrote down her name and the c/o's name on the top of the BP-9 (the part you tear off to discard when separating the copies) so I wouldn't forget them.
All the guards left, but the nurse hung out apparently still waiting with me for the lieutenant to show up. I made a little polite conversation, until shortly the LT did indeed appear. An «angel in white»; she was a mature, not unattractive, woman, with a stern but neutral disposition. So far so good, my unconscious mind seemed to say (i.e. I felt more relaxed when she appeared, after having been so riled by the guards and so many implied threats). She said, «You must be Mr. Duncan?» --- «Yes!» --- «Tell me what happened.»
She seemed genuinely willing to listen, so I decided to «back up» a bit, and I told her: «Well, there's a history here you should know first...» I told her that I had been receiving threats and verbal abuse from a few of the guards ever since I arrived, but that most of the guards, and all of the other prisoners, treat me respectfully. It was just a few that went out of their way to make me uncomfortable. Then I told her that Mr. Edwards in particular was a problem because he was the Unit Counselor and I couldn't just avoid having to deal with him the way I could the other guards. She listened, and when i told her about the «Team Review» and how Edwards said I «refused» when I didn't, she said: «That explains the Incident Report...» I said: «What Incident Report?» And she said: «Mr. Shepherd wrote you up for abusive language, a 404.» And I said: «Really? What did he say I said?» And she tactfully said: «I'll get to that in a moment when I serve you the report. In the meantime finish telling me what happened...» (Angel indeed! She actually wants to listen first! What heaven did she come from?!)
She listened to the end of my woeful tale for a few more minutes, and then read me the Incident Report. Mr. Shepherd reported that I said: «You guys are real pieces of shit!» I told her: «Yep, that's about right. I was tired and frustrated so I lost my usual restraint for a second, which is probably what caught Shepherd's attention» (i.e. my guard slipped, so he pounced with paperwork, like the true bureaucrat he is).
As I write this, it is Tuesday, May 12, and I just got back from the «disciplinary» hearing for this 404 infraction. The Unit Manager had to do the hearing because Edwards and Shepherd, who usually do it, were involved in the «incident» themselves. But, it seems Mr. Sample, the new, and inexperienced, Unit Manager was coached before the hearing, as expected, and he sanctioned me 120 days loss of phone privileges. I told him, sincerely; «As long as you really think that's fair, I have no problem with it.» He insisted he thought it was fair, and he probably did, even though it clearly wasn't fair at all! But, Mr. Sample wasn't trying to shaft me, and that alone was, for me, all that mattered. He even listened to my complaints about Mr. Edwards and said he would «talk» to him. Sample is not a good listener, though; like most bureaucrats, he hears only bits and pieces of what you say to him and then pieces that together in his own head to rationalize whatever he thinks in the first place. But, at least he didn't deliberately try to screw me the way Edwards does.]
After she served me the write up and was ready to leave, I asked her for some «advice» (I actually used that word). I said: «What can I do to avoid trouble like this?» I was referring to the assaults and harassment from the guards, but I think she thought I meant the 404 incident. She said: «Just try to be more 'professional' in your conduct.» I said: «Okay, I will.» She then left the unit and I was soon escorted back to my cell «without incident». (Oops, I forgot, at one point the lieutenant told the nurse to complete her examination, and she took some pictures of me with my hands up, to show any marks, for her report. I noticed at the disciplinary hearing today that her report, with pictures, was included in the 404 paperwork. So, it was obvious that the 404 write up was to counter my «assault» claim --- which tells me I'd be wasting my time to file it --- i.e. They've already «dug in».)
[J.D. May 12, 2015]
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