STATE OF WASHINGTON

DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL OPERATIONS
WASHINGTON CORRECTIONS CENTER FOR WOMEN
P.O. Box 17, MS: WP-04 • 9601 Bujacich Rd, N,W.· Gig Harbor, WA 98335-0017

August 2, 2004

d?

TO:

·
. k~ ')
Dan F itzpatnc
Correctional Program Manager

FROM:

Christine Turull ~
Correctional Unit Supervisor, J Unit

SUBJECT:

ALLEGATIONS OF STAFF MISCONDUCT

Upon returning to the facility on July 29, 2004, I was informed by Correctional Counselor 2 (CC2)
Rolanda Cawthon regarding a rumo~of
ina ro riate contact between one of the offenders in the
Residential Parenting Program (RPP),
and a staff member, Correctional Officer
Derrick Roberson. See attached statements om staff.
CC2 Cawthon stated that after speaking with both offenders who reported hearing the rumor, she reported
it to Correctional Counselor 3 (CC3) Terese Jackson, who was her immediate supervisor in my absence. I
spoke with Terese who stated that she had attempted to contact Investigator Steve Baxter numerous times
about the alleged misconduct but they had played "phone tag" and had been unable to speak. When asked
if she had attempted to contact anyone else such as CPM Fitzpatrick or CUS Bennett, she stated no, that
she had wanted to wait until she had been able to speak with Mr. Baxter to find out what she should do. I
asked her if she had put anything in writing and again she stated that she wanted to check with Mr. Baxter
first, especially since there was no solid proof, just "hearsay", that anything had occurred. I then provided
Ms. Jackson with a copy of DOC 850.020, Investigation of Alleged Custodial Sexual Misconduct, and
informed her that it clearly stated what was required and in the future if she was unclear about any
direction that she needed to refer to policy. I then spoke with Mr. Baxter who confirmed that he and Ms.
Jackson had played "phone tag" and when they finally did touch base that she had told him she didn't
remember what she had called him about.
After speaking with staff, I called offender"o my office and asked her about the alleged
misconduct. She stated that she too had heard the rumor out on campus and that she was upset about it,
but that none of it was true. I expressed my concern about staff abusing their positions of power and told
her that if something were to have happened that I needed her to share it with me. She again stated that
she was friendly with CIO Roberson just like she was with all staff, and that her primary interaction with
him was only when he was filling in for another staff person in J Unit, but that at no time was her and the
officer's contact what she would consider inappropriate.

"Working Together ior SAFE Communities"

516

Allegations of StaffMisconduct
August 2, 2004
Page 2

On Friday, July 30, I spoke with offender
, and asked her about what she had
,'stated that a former RPP participant who is now
reported to Ms. Jackson and Ms. Cawthon. Mis
,had told other offenders back in
housed at Helen B. Ratcliff Work Release
HMaughte
hile she and CIO Roberson had gone
May 2004, that she had watche
into one of the "back rooms". I asked her if she had ever seen anything strange or inappropriate when
CIO Roberson had worked in the unit and she told me "no", but did tell me that once when CIO Roberson
was working Perimeter Patrol that he had parked his vehicle behind the unit, got out of his truck, anpllw.
"staring down D-wing". When asked why she had waited so long to report any of this and Miss
stated that it really wasn't any of her business and besides it was only "hearsay" from another offen er.
Later that afternoon I received a voice message from CIO Roberson stating that he'd like to come and talk
to me about the rumors that were floating around on the minimum campus. He left his home phone
number and asked that I contact him and let him know if he could come in and talk to me prior to starting
his shift on Monday, August 2, 2004. I did not retum his phone call.

CDT
Attachment

517

" ...."""C'

Irt!tIl'\
....., •

O~WASHINGTON

CUSTODIAL SEXUAL MISCONDUCT AND

STATE
aEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

OFFENDER CONTACT ASSESSMENT REPORT

I Date of Report: 7/29/04

I Facility/Region/Office:

L

WCCWIWC/J Unit

_

SUSPECT/STAFF INFORMATION
Social SecurityNumber:

Name: Roberson

I Gender: Male

DOB:

Race:

Tille/Position: CO
Date of Employment:
Shift AssignmenllWork Schedule:
Work Assignment Area/Post:
Date Assigned to CurrentArea/Post:
.

VICTIM/OFFENDER INFORMATION
DOC#:
Gender: Female

Race: Caucasian/Hispanic
Work Assignment: Food Service

Housing Assignment: J
Shift AssignmenllWork Schedule: 12:30-18:20
DateAssigned to Current Work Area: 6/22/04
Assigned CCO (if applicable): Counselor Terese Jackson
Date of Assignment: 4/15/02

DETAILS OF INCIDENT
Identify witnesses, date of Incident(if the incident occurred over a period of time, note initial occurrence dateand subsequent .
occurrences with dates, who, what, where, whf-'-!'a"'n"-d'-'h"-ow"':c_
. erviewin
.
.~.
a differen .
, she reported
ad told her that she had watched
b
.
the staff break room. This would have taken place, as alleged when
as still here. She was
no witness any involvement between the
transferred to Helen B. Ratcliff Work Release on 6/14/04.
officer and the offender. She did report that at one time she saw Officer Roberson, who was on perimeter, stop in
the truck with his door open, looking down the D Wing hall while smoking a cigarette. She said she did not
observe any response from any offenders.
.

'-id

I also interviewe
garding a separate issue, and in the course of the conversation
asked her if she'd heard any rumors, and she reported the same story, but stated she never saw any1hing herself
nor had any firsthand knowledge.
These interviews took place on 7/19/04 while investigating another incident that occurred in RPP.

I ieft a message with Steve Baxter from I & I, asking him to contact me. I did not leave any names. I ran in to him
the next day and he acknowledged my message but never did call me back. I left another message on Monday,
7/26/04, indicating that the cali was concerning a staff member and asked him to call me. I have not received a
call yet.
I considered contacting CPM Fitzpatrick but felt these allegations should not be voiced until I had contact with
Steve Baxter, to protect the privacy of this individual, since I had nothing but hearsay.

300e

03-371 (02126/04)

oeo

1 of 3

Doe 850.020

518

3DDC 03-371 (02/26/04) OCO

2 of 3

DOC 850.020

519

INVESTIGATIVE RECOMMENDATION
(Answers must be explained.)

0

Further Investigation:

OVes

No

Administrative (ECR) Investigation:

DVesO No

Criminal Investigation

DVesD No

.

Explanation:

INITIAL EMPLOYEE DISPOSITION RECOMMENDATION
(To be completed by the Appointing Authority.)
Reassign work area:

o VesO No

Reassign to home:

OVesO No

Letter of Reprimand:

DYesD No

Termination:

o Yes 0

No

Other:
Name of Staff Preparing Report:

Position:

Signature:

Date

Name of Appointing Authority:
Date

Signature of Appointing Authority:

,
The contents of this document maybe eligible for public disclosure. Social Security Numbers are considered confidential information andwill
be redacted in the event of such a request. This form is governed by Executive Order00-03, RCW 42.17, and RCW 40.14.

3DDC 03-371 (02126104) OCO

3 of 3

DOC 850.020

520

Turull, Christine D.
Cawthon, Rolanda N
Friday, July 30, 20044:25 PM
Turull, Christine D.
Jackson, Terese E.
RE: Statements

From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
SUbject:

Good Afternoon!
This information is per your request:
On July 19, 2004, I had a verbal conversation with inmates~n.ecause they had gotten into an argument
in the unit on Saturday, June 18, 2004. This incident was b~my a en Ion by the on duty officer. Both offenders
were asked to the officers station and talked to about the incid~e.y w e r . · by me that their counselor would
address the issue when she came In that day. After dlsmlssln'-, inmat
was aSkiilay behind because
she was talked to about her behavior on another occasion. During the coiwersallon with inmat
, she stated that
she heard a rumo~another inmate and a staff person. She was asked to clarify this and s e asserted that she had
heard that inmate~ In the RPP program had b e e n . with Officer Roberson. However, this was second hand
information and she had not heard it directly from inmat
. Townly was informed that I would have to let my
supervisor know. I informed Terese of this incident when she came into work later that day. Terese advised me that she
wouid look into the incident. This is the last involvement that I had other than asking Terese during week if she had talked
with Baxter.
On Tuesday, July 27, 2004, Officer Roberson came to the unit and said that he wanted to speak with me, however I was
meeting with an offender. He came by the second time and there was no one in my office. When he came in, he asked
me if I had heard the rumors that were going on about him and I said, "what rumors are you referring to." It was at this
point that he said that there were rumors that he had heard from offenders in K Unit about him being involved with an
offender in J Unit. At this point, he asked me what shouid I do, I told him that he should talk to his supervisor and/or CUS
Turull. I further informed him that Turull would be in on Thursday or Friday, and that the information he heard sounds like
it should be written in an incident report. I advised him that if he didn't do anything, he shouldn't have a problem, but it
would appropriate to document the interaction he has had in order to maintain his integrity. Officer Roberson said that he
would not be at work on Thursday or Friday, but would try to give Turull a call or come in on his office day. After my
conversation with him, I advised Terese that Officer Roberson came to my office to discuss the issue. While I was in the
office, Terese attempted to contact Steve Baxter. This statement isn't word for word; however identifies what was
discussed.
On Thursday, July 29, 2004, I informed CUS Turull about the above information.
-----Original Message-----

From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:

Turull, Christine D.
Friday, July 30, 2004 3:13 PM
Jackson, Terese E.; cawthon, Roianda N
Statements

Remember, before you leave today I need those statements regarding allegations of staff misconduct

1

521

INITIAL CASE NOTIFICATION NOTE

On 9/14/04 CO Clover notified 1&1 that she had heard form several members of her work
crew that they had heard that a girl in J-Unit was having an affair with CO Roberson, she
will attempt to get additional information on possible inmate involved.

522

Baxter, Steven B.
From:
Sent:
To:
SUbject:

Turull, Christine D.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004 1:20 PM
Baxter, Steven B.; Kelly, KellyM.
FW: RPP OFFENDERS

I'm sharing this with both of you due to the bolded statement below:..
---~Original

From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:

Message-----

Poston, Jessica L
Tuesday, September 21, 2004 12:51 AM
TurLlI,Chl1stJne D.
RPP OFFENDERS

Hi, weill received a lot of information from multiple mothers concerning many issues. Most issues are above my head so I
have directed them to talk to you. Some of the issues are hanging over my head so I wanted to give you a heads up to let
you know at ieast what is being said amongst the group. So here is a list and a summary of events with each issue.
'1 was told tha inmate

room. Inmat
the underwear In
be among
icing on the

e

had her underwear stoien and th~found them in~'
said that she had went In inmat~ve a bib for bab
.an saw
i'drawer. There is a lot o~n that has seemed to arise from this issue. The ension seems to
n~ I think from the talk that I had amongst them that this was just the
a ere are many other issues going on.

'Inmate_nf
rmed me that inmat~ameup to her and told her that inmat
that inmat
as goin~saying that she w a .."
. . with C/O Rob
continued
say at inmat~old her that Inmat
said that inmat
some underwear that had bodily fluids on them. Inmate
proceeded to say that s e had been under
investigation before for this and that she doesn't want these statements to become a problem or burden on
herself nor C/O Roberson. She said that she had talked to you about the previous accusations so I informed her
to talk to you about this whoie issue.
'
',nmate_nforiWme that she is having a, major problem with C/O N. Gonzales. 'She states that C/O Gonzales turns
her bac~ate
when she asks a question. She continued. many problems that she is and has had with
C/O Gonzales and at it is . t i ng her everyday life. Inmate
Iso stated that C/O Gonzales and C/O '
Brotman had brought inmat
in the_and gave her some 00 on multiple occasions. She also stated that
the same two officers were ba YSI ing bab
I really did not know where to so with all of this but I felt I needed to tell someone about it. If you have any questions or
comments let me know.
Thanks
Jessica

1

523

Baxter, Steven B.
Turull, Christine D.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004 1:50 PM
Baxter, Steven B.
Per Your Request

From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:

~urrent couns,eior - Andrea Bergan 206-720-3008

*-

-

'\

1

524

.....

(iii'
/

STATE OF WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

INCIDENT REPORT

J1Il..st;A
DATE /TIME O~~CIDEN:<;(

//:'~J-O·

I

DOC NUMBER

OFFENDERS INVOLVED

PLACE I AREA OCCURRED

LIVING UNIT

.c:

'::,>

USE OF FORCE INCIDENT 0 YES ~NO
WITNESSES

DETAILS: Who Was involved, what took place, how did It happen, description of any injuries, damage, use of force, etc. Attach
additional sheet, if necessary.

DATE /TIME RECEIVED

INVESTIGATION ASSIGNED TO

INCIDENT NUMBER

BY

Distribution by Associate Superintendent:
Superintendent
0 Intelligence Officer
Shift Commander
0 Clinical Director
Safety Officer
0 Other

o
o
o

DOC 21-458 (10f16f2001)WCCW

DATE

o Other

o Other
o Other
525

STATE OF WASHINGTON
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

INCIDENT REPORT
OFFENDERS INVOLVED

DOC NUMBER

LIVING UNIT

~JE /TIME OF IN<::~~NT

IT - 20 &p;;NPV
USE OF FORCE INCIDENT

D

YES

IE NO

WITNESSES

DETAILS: Who was involved, what took place, how did it happen, description of any injuries, damage, use of force, etc. Attach
additional sheet, if necessary .

.2I;e:

HAfJ

web~ cY,P

1'I-/v(}/cYt -

ZO/V#t/OC(

5~

?-"'t(/"//. / -rc;,,;;.O -rJ<'e.-r1 // t!:
t-v;4 j'
5"' E v.~ 'At ~ I
A 1/)
Jh

IMMEDIATE ACTION TAKEN:

11/(7" ( (

r (pjJ % I?o/:l D.(!(~

DATE

23NO~

DATE { TIME RECEIVED

INVESTIGATION ASSIGNED TO

INC/DENT NUMBER

BY

Distribution by Associate Superintendent:
Superintendent
0 Intelligence Officer
Shift Commander
0 Clinical Director
Safety Officer
0 Other

o
o
o

DATE

0
0
0

Other
Other
Other

The contents of this document may be eligible for public disclosure. Social Security Numbers are considered confidential information and
will be redacted in the event of such a request. This term is governed by Executive Order OO~03, REW 42.17, and RCW 40.14.

DOC 21-458 (02119/03) WCCW

526

Correctional Officer Derrick Roberson
Offende

SUBJECT:
Received information that K-Unit had an emergency. A staff member
(name unknown) from J-Unit assisted with the emergency. The other staff
in J-unit Officer Roberson stayed to maintain the security of the unit.

While officer Roberson was in the unit offende
aske
to watch her daughter"
During that time officerRoberson and offende~ad intercourse.
When offende_returned 15 to 20 minutes later to get her daughter she
told Offender~at she had just had intercourse with officer
Roberson.
During an interview with offender
she said that Officer
Roberson and Offende~ad intercourse two times. She said one time
in the old property room..

527