Prisoner Beating in Erie County Results in Guard's Conviction and Settlement

by Matt Clarke

A guard at the Erie County Holding Center (ECHC) in Buffalo, New York, pleaded guilty to involvement in a prisoner beating and was convicted in federal court of misdemeanor charges of deprivation of civil rights under color of law and sentenced to eight months in a Buffalo halfway house.

The same incident led to a lawsuit which was settled after the guard's conviction. Stephen Heilmann was a pretrial detainee incarcerated at the ECHC when a group of five or six guards, organized and led by then Sgt. Thomas J. Thompson, 41, approached him in his cell, told him they had received an anonymous tip that there were drugs in his housing area and demanded information about the drugs. Heilmann directed them to a cell across the hall.

The guards searched that cell, but failed to find any drugs. They then returned to Heilmann's cell and accused him of lying to them. Thompson told him that, as punishment for lying to them, he would have to choose a guard to punch him in the stomach. Hellmann chose one of the guards and was gut punched.

Heilmann reported the incident. An investigation was conducted which resulted in the federal charges. Additionally, Erie County Sheriff Timothy Howard fired Thompson and two other deputies and suspended three deputies, all of whom were involved in the incident. An arbitrator later ruled that Thompson and the other fired deputies had to be rehired. Thompson was nonetheless demoted to deputy. The other deputies who were disciplined were Gregory Stutt, Robert Gould, Peter Eagle, Richard Matthews and Johnathon Weir.

Heilmann filed a lawsuit against county and jail officials in state court alleging civil rights violations and state tort claims. The case was removed to federal district court.

Following Thompson's conviction, the parties settled the suit in July 2011. The county revealed that its portion of the settlement was $14,990.

Heilmann was dissatisfied with the outcome of the proceedings. He believed that Thompson should have been convicted of a felony, not a misdemeanor.

"Any police officer in this country that does something like this absolutely deserves the maximum penalty allowed by law," said Heilmann in a court statement given via telephone. "He needs to be sentenced and sentenced hard to send a message to the other guards."

Heilmann said, "this is an abomination" after he was told that Thompson had been convicted of a misdemeanor and might not lose his job. Prosecutors sought a year in prison for Thompson,

U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder took into account Thompson's economic and family circumstances and whether he would lose his job when he sentenced Thompson to eight months in a Buffalo halfway house—an arrangement that would allow him to maintain his position at the Sheriff's Office, provided the sheriff agrees.

"Ultimately, it's the employer's decision," said U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr.

One has to wonder if the magistrate judge would be so considerate of a defendant's economic, family and employment circumstance were the defendant not a member of the law enforcement community. It could be argued that law enforcement personnel should be held to a higher standard. See: Heilmann v. Collins, U.S.D.C. (W.D. N.Y.), Case No. 1:11-cv-00233-WMS-JJM.

Additional sources: www.W1VB.com; www.FBI.gov; The Buffalo News

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