Another Florida Youth Languishes in Pain until Death While Guards Idly Watch

By David M. Reutter

A sense of fear and apprehension about overstepping authority kept guards at a Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) facility from summoning help for a dying juvenile. The incident is reminiscent of the death of DJJ detainee Omar Paisley in 2003. See PLN, June, 2005, page 8.

Like Paisley, who died after guards and nurses watched him suffer after his appendix burst, Eric Perez, 18, was considered to be faking illness despite being obviously ill. Perez’s July 10, 2011 death has resulted in nine DJJ employees being fired and changes have again been promised by DJJ’s top brass.

Perez was received at the Palm Beach Region Juvenile Detention Center (PBRJDC) on June 29, 2011. Except for being lactose intolerant, he was in good physical condition with no known illness or diseases. At around 1:25 AM guard Floyd Powell approached Perez’s cell and observed him crying and acting as if something was wrong. Powell immediately called his supervisor, Terence Davis.

Davis arrived to find Perez walking around his cell repeatedly yelling, “Get off me! I can’t hear!” When Davis and Powell opened the cell and asked Perez to come out, he exited and fell to the floor crying unintelligibly. Their efforts to help him stand up were unsuccessful.

“Every time youth Perez tried to get up, he would fall,” Powell told investigators from DJJ’s Office of the Inspector General. Further attempts to question him about what was wrong were unsuccessful. He “just kept crying out like something hurt.”

Davis said Perez was initially unresponsive to him, but then answered basic “yes” or “no” questions. He also expressed that he “wanted the pain in his head to go away.” Davis had Perez lie on a mat in the dayroom floor, and when he fell asleep and began to snore, Davis left the area.

He was called back at around 2:15 PM by Powell when Perez began to vomit out his mouth and nose. When he arrived, Perez “rolled over, tried to stand up, and made low moaning noises.” During the OIG’s investigation, there was a dispute between the guards about the vomit.

Powell and guards Laryell King and Marion Jarrell described the vomit as “pinkish.” Davis and guard Christian Lewis said it was “beige,” like the color on Perez’ cell door. Lewis told investigators that he spoke to Davis about Perez swallowing something like paint. The two of them went to the cell and noticed scraped paint. The other guards, however, said the vomit did not contain paint chips.

The situation looked so dire that Powell suggested calling 9-1-1. Davis agreed, and Powell went to make the call. Before he could exit the area, Powell was told “No, no, do not call them yet… He will be okay… It’s not life threatening.” Davis said he was going to call Assistant Superintendent Anthony Flowers for guidance.

At around 2:39, Flowers was awakened to take the call. He was told about the behavior in the cell and about Perez vomiting after lying on the dayroom floor. He instructed Davis to call the nurse, who was on-call for DJJ’s contractor Corizon. Attempts to call her were unsuccessful.

At 3:09, Davis again called Flowers. He advised he was unable to contact the nurse, but had left her voice mail messages. He went on to tell Flowers that Perez was “okay” and sleeping; he was not informed Perez was incoherent or hallucinating, nor was he told he could not stand or walk.

Investigators were told by Davis that his attempts to assist Perez to a shower after he vomited were unsuccessful because Perez “didn’t have enough strength because he had lost so much fluid.” The rationale to not call 9-1-1, according to Davis, was abandoned to allow Perez sleep off “whatever was in his system he vomited out.” The focus was on “showering youth Perez and seeing what happens.”

The real reason that Davis failed to act as if he was dealing with a life-threatening situation was that he believed Perez was feigning ill. Guard Mismaille Souffrant was present when Davis told Lewis that Perez was “faking” and “wanting to go to Colombia [Hospital] to escape because his parents didn’t want him.” She also heard him say Perez was not going to the hospital because “he did not want to complete a CCC report.”

Davis told guard Lydia Sanchez during rounds that he was dealing with “a kid [that] was acting up.” He said that Perez “seemed lost” and “may be high from eating paint.” Davis again stated Perez was trying to go to the hospital to escape like another youth had done. One guard said he was told by Davis that Perez was “faking” and “some women want to be pregnant and they think they are pregnant, so they force themselves to vomit.”

Perez was left to lie on the mat in the dayroom until around 5:40. Powell said that at that time Perez “looked dead,” but he was breathing. Since he was “very weak and couldn’t walk,” he, Davis, and Lewis dragged the “dead weight” to medical confinement on the mat. He was placed in a cell and left there.

Nurse Marcia Clough arrived at PBRJDC at around 7:15, and a half hour later she was informed by a guard about Perez. As she approached medical confinement, Davis filled her in on events surrounding Perez. She decided to make rounds before checking him, who she heard making “snoring noises.”

A few minutes later, Davis called a “code white” (medical alert) when he noticed Perez was not snoring. 9-1-1 was finally called and several guards made attempts to revive Perez. When paramedics arrived, they determined there was nothing they could do, and they pronounced Perez dead at 8:09. An autopsy determined he died from a cerebral hemorrhage.

The subsequent investigation included a grand jury presentment, but no criminal charges were brought because “no applicable statute exists criminalizing the actions and perhaps more importantly the lack of actions of the officers involved in the death of youth Perez.”

DJJ, however, took action. “We have cleaned house,” said DJJ spokesperson C.J. Drake, “and we are continuing to clean house.” DJJ issued letters of dismissals to Flowers, Davis, Powell, King, Lewis, and Jarrell, for violating policies that required them to act. Each had a duty to call 9-1-1 even if a supervisor objected.

The investigation also found that guards Alberto Rios and Darrell Smith had engaged in horseplay in the chow area the night before Perez died. The video showed the guards had frisked Perez and lifted him into the air so his legs were higher than his head. He was dropped and fell to the floor with his back against the wall.

In the wake of Perez’s death, DJJ Secretary Wansley Walters said, “I want to emphasize that DJJ will not tolerate conduct that puts kids, employees, or the public at risk. We are committed to operating a safe and secure juvenile justice system and will take firm and decisive action against those who do not share that commitment.”

DJJ Assistant Secretary Julia Strange said the agency would not follow the grand jury’s recommendation to have a medical professional on site at all times. She told the OIG that “budgetary restraint currently prohibit us form being able to provide twenty-four medical care.”

When Omar Parsley died in 2003, DJJ pledged to “treat every child as if he were your own.” Just eight years later, another youth was neglected and languished in pain under the eyes of guards until he died.

Lewis, who pushed the paint chip theory, called the incident “confusing.” He went on to say, “You want to do something, but you feel like if you do it, you will get in trouble because you were already told not to do it.” That fear and apprehension would not occur if DJJ’s training reinforced its pledge to treat every child as your own, rather than as unwanted trouble-makers.

No criminal charges were filed against staff at PBRJDC in connection with Perez’s death.

Sources: DJJ, Office of Inspector General Report of Investigation IR #11-0048; Miami Herald

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