Justice Department Settles with Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Over Use of Tasers in County Jails

WASHINGTON – A settlement agreement has been reached with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in Columbus, Ohio, over the use of Conducted Energy Devices (CEDs), or electrically charged weapons commonly referred to by the brand name "TASER," in its two jails, the Franklin County Corrections Centers, the Department of Justice announced today. The settlement was filed as a joint motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

On Nov. 3, 2010, the United States filed a motion to intervene in a case alleging that the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office engaged in a policy and practice of excessive and abusive use of CEDs against detainees and inmates. The case, which is represented by the Ohio Legal Rights Service, Ohio’s protection and advocacy system for people with disabilities, includes "all persons who . . . are or will be placed in the custody of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at the Franklin County Corrections Centers." The United States moved to join in the case under the provision of to the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, and filed its own complaint to ensure the uniform national interpretation and application of civil rights laws pertaining to excessive force by law enforcement, an area in which the Justice Department has special expertise. The district court granted the United States’ motion to join the matter on Dec. 14, 2010.

The court-enforceable agreement not only establishes significant safeguards against the abusive use of CEDs against detainees and inmates, but also ensures that those who disobey deputies’ orders in a non-violent manner will not be stunned by the electrically charged weapons.  The agreement also requires changes to the suicide risk-assessment policies that will restrict the practice of electrically stunning individuals who show resistance to being forcibly changed into suicide safety gowns.

"The important public safety role that law enforcement agencies play does not excuse them from the responsibility to uphold the civil rights of all individuals," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division.  "We commend the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office for acknowledging its responsibility to uphold the constitutional rights of persons in its custody.  Today’s agreement will go a long way towards increasing public confidence in the sheriff’s office and protecting the rule of law."

The Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 authorizes the Department of Justice to file lawsuits seeking court orders to reform law enforcement offices that are engaging in a pattern or practice of violating citizens’ federal constitutional and civil rights. Please visit www.justice.gov/crt to learn more about this Act and other laws enforced by the department’s Civil Rights Division.

This article was sponsored by Police Books.

Three Charged with Conspiracy, Making False Statements to Medicaid, and Other Crimes in Connection with Two Columbus Pain Management Clinics

COLUMBUS—A federal grand jury has indicted the owner and two employees of two pain management clinics in Columbus, alleging that they were operating as “pill mills” by distributing prescriptions for pain medicine without a legitimate medical need for the prescriptions and fraudulently billing government insurance programs for the drugs.

Carter M. Stewart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Robert L. Corso, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Lamont Pugh, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Division (FBI), Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, Executive Director William Wimsley of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy and Franklin County Sheriff Jim Karnes announced the indictment which was returned December 21, 2010.

Charged in the indictment are:

Dannette M. Hawthorne, 48, of Columbus, the owner of the two Columbus clinics, Trinity Medical Center, LLC, and Perspective Medical Solutions, Inc.

Charlene Breedlove-Jones, 53, of Columbus. She is identified as the office manager for both clinics.

Deneshia M. Wakefield, 37, of Columbus. She is identified as an employee at both clinics.

The indictment alleges that the clinics began operating as “pill mills” in January 2010 by selling prescriptions for controlled substances, primarily oxycodone, without a legitimate medical need for the prescriptions. Many of the prescriptions allegedly contained the forged signatures of physicians who had temporarily worked at Trinity and Perspective, but whom had terminated their employment with the clinics prior to the forgeries. The defendants allegedly sold the prescriptions to patients for cash.

The indictment also alleges that the defendants conspired to charge patients, most of whom were Medicaid recipients, between $150 and $300 for each visit. The clinics refused to accept insurance and only accepted cash payments. Many of the patients travelled from other regions of Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky. The clinics possessed virtually no medical equipment except for blood pressure cuffs, scales and exam tables. It was part of the conspiracy to direct the patients to specific pharmacies and/or to frequently change pharmacies in order to avoid the suspicion of pharmacists who became concerned about the large dosages and quantities of the pain medications being prescribed to patients by Trinity and Perspective. The pharmacies subsequently submitted the claims for payment to the Medicaid Program.

All three defendants are charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Under law, the crime can be punished by a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. In addition, Breedlove-Jones is charged with six counts of making false health care statements, punishable by up to five years in prison on each count. She is also charged with two counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud, punishable by up to four years in prison. She faces two counts of distribution of a controlled substance, each carrying a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and one count of aggravated identity theft. The sentence for aggravated identity theft is two years in prison, consecutive to any other time served.

Wakefield faces four counts of making false health care statements, two counts of obtaining controlled substances by fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

Stewart commended the cooperative investigation by the federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies who joined in making the announcement, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth Affeldt, who is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an accusation. All defendants should be presumed innocent unless convicted in court.