Opinion ID: 768198
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Code of Silence and the Retaliations

Text: 13 Major Elwell, at his deposition, testified that there is a code of silence at the Jail and that officers who report wrongdoing by fellow officers face severe ostracism. (Deposition of Robert D. Elwell (Elwell Dep.) at 153-54.) Elwell testified, I work within it ever [sic] day. (Id. 153.) He recalled another case in which an officer had breached the code of silence and had suffered such harsh ostracism that the officer either was or was nearly forced to resign. Correction officer Stanley Marchinkowski testified that in the wake of the April 29, 1994 inmate beatings, a representative of the Jail officers' labor union told several officers that 'as far as any investigation goes, anyone who turns in an officer is a rat, a snitch,' and that everybody had to stick together. (Deposition of Stanley Marchinkowski at 53.) O'Connor testified that when Sheriff Barnes commented to him on the April 29 incident, describing it as 'great,' O'Connor expressed his disagreement, but Barnes stated that the officers needed to stick[] together. (O'Connor Dep. at 52-53.) 14 After the federal investigation began, officers who were believed to have cooperated were subjected to numerous forms of harassment and intimidation by unidentified fellow officers. Plaintiffs and some half-dozen other targeted officers were, for example, incessantly depicted as rats and snitches on posters and in graffiti scrawled on walls in the Jail's hallways and bathrooms or on their lockers; they were subjected to name-calling in public areas and over walkie-talkies; they received harassing telephone calls; and they received outright threats of physical harm. The harassment of Keenan became unrelenting after he testified at the criminal trial of the four indicted officers. After Carlos testified at that trial, Sheriff Barnes himself, on at least two occasions, called Carlos 'Rat' and 'Snitch,' and told Carlos, 'You're gonna get yours,' and 'We're gonna get []ya.' (Carlos Dep. at 58.) 15 The retaliation against Jeffes began in late 1994 immediately after the broadcast of the news report. Undersheriff Buffardi testified that the correction officers were very angry about the broadcast and that tensions among them were running high. (Deposition of Harry Buffardi at 61; see also Deposition of William Barnes (Barnes Dep.) at 68 (everybody was talking about it).). Buffardi had made a home videotape of the interview, and he and Barnes repeatedly reviewed the tape in the training room at the Jail. Both immediately suspected that Jeffes was the officer on the tape, and Barnes promptly took away Jeffes's administrative and supervisory responsibilities. When Jeffes inquired as to the reason, Barnes's only explanation was '[p]eople do talk, Chris, and you know what this is about.' (Jeffes Dep. at 6.) 16 Sheriff Barnes and Undersheriff Buffardi also took steps to determine with greater certainty the identity of the officer on the news report. As instructed by Barnes, Buffardi went to an air force base in another county to have the videotape enhanced and analyzed using advanced military equipment. These efforts resulted in the preparation of an enhanced tape of the audio portion (the audio tape) that made it apparent that the voice of the officer was that of Jeffes. Buffardi later also obtained from the air force a voice-print analysis confirming that Jeffes was the officer on the tape. 17 Sheriff Barnes and Undersheriff Buffardi invited other officers to watch Buffardi's videotape; Barnes and Buffardi also subsequently played for officers the audio tape that clarified that the speaker was Jeffes. The officers who were invited by Sheriff Barnes and Undersheriff Buffardi included Leguire and correction officer Andrew Jones, both of whom were alleged to have participated in the April 29 inmate abuse. Correction officer John D. Broderick testified that Leguire urged everyone to go upstairs and view the tape to see who it really was. (Broderick Deposition at 59.) 18 Broderick testified that, at the time, he believed that Barnes's screening of the videotape of the news report and exposure of Jeffes as the interviewed officer were likely to so inflame other officers as to pose a serious threat to Jeffes's life. Jeffes testified that several officers expressed to him their concern that he was in danger of physical harm if he continued to work at the Jail. 19 In the wake of Sheriff Barnes's invitations to officers to view the enhanced videotape of Jeffes's interview, Jeffes was subjected to numerous threats and other acts of harassment and intimidation. He received up to 20 menacing telephone calls a day, during which he could hear background noises revealing that the calls were coming from the Jail. Jeffes was also subjected to various types of retaliation in addition to the acts described above. For example, Jeffes's radio communications were subjected to interference, so that each time he tried to use his walkie-talkie, another officer would click on and thus 'step on' [his] communication, thereby placing Jeffes in the position of not being able to call for help and endangering his life. (Affidavit of Christopher Jeffes dated June 26, 1998 (Jeffes Aff.) 7.) A poster was hung in the Jail depicting Jeffes with his eyes blacked out, and bearing the words NOW MAYBE I CAN DIE. (Id. 4 & Ex.B.) Two unidentified men showed up at the back door of Jeffes's home and harassed his wife, intimating that Jeffes was likely to be injured because of his position at the Jail. Jeffes also experienced what he suspected were acts of vandalism at his home, exposing it to the risk of fire. By December 1994, Jeffes had become so anxious over the threats and harassment that he spent the nights on his living room couch, with a shotgun within arm's reach. 20 Jeffes began seeing a psychotherapist and ceased going to work. His subsequent application for disability benefits was denied, and his employment by the County was eventually terminated in August 1997. Keenan, also undergoing psychiatric care, left his post at the Jail in 1996 after a panic attack; he never returned. His application for disability benefits too was denied, and his employment by the County was formally terminated in July 1997. 21