U.S. District Court case cites assaults and civil rights abuses
Those named in the suit are former Warden James L. Henderson, County Commissioner President Mike Mc Cready and Maryland's Secretary of Public Safety and Correctional Services Gary D. Maynard. Gary Cullen, a former Somerset County Detention Center inmate is suing Somerset County for $5 million in U.S. District Court. It was during 2006 and 2007 that Cullen claims he was assaulted, battered and deprived of his civil rights while incarcerated at the jail.
This lawsuit could bring to open court innumerable problems at the SCDC that were uncovered in reports prepared by the Wicomico County Bureau of Investigation and the Maryland State Police. Cullen's attorney Christopher T. Nace of Washington is seeking a jury trial. On April 8, 2006 Henderson allegedly "pushed Cullen into a wall several times, punched him in the stomach with a closed fist" and later that evening pulled Cullen from his cell, shackled him to a bench and slapped him twice".
Thirty minutes after four other inmates were questioned about a jailhouse fight, the court filing alleges Cullen was told to do 50 push-ups and he would be released. "Wearing light clothing, slippers and not permitted to collect his belongings" or make a phone call, Cullen was released with $4 given by the warden from "his own pocket". After walking to the Dash-In on Rt. 413, Cullen called his mother and girlfriend, but before either arrived, Henderson and Officer Ward took him back into custody. The officer was allegedly directed to treat Cullen as an escapee "and gave him an additional 90 days".
In May 2006, Cullen states he was left in the facility gymnasium for 15 hours "without food, water, toilet or bed". This action is one that leads to the claim that Cullen was deprived of his federal civil rights, and that Henderson "acted with actual malice".
Other charges against Henderson by Cullen include "locking him in his cell regardless of the usual cell door policy that permitted doors to be open from 8am to 2pm. Furthermore, Cullen alleges that from Nov. 15 through Dec.30, 2006, "threats of violence" were made to him by Henderson and other officers, and that he "would be hanged during the night".
On Jan. 10, 2007, the day after a jail shakedown, Cullen was transferred to Wicomico County to begin drug rehabilitation. Because he was identified as the alleged snitch that caused the shakedown, Cullen felt he was being set-up to be accosted by other inmates. The statement of facts claims as much because it alleges that an Officer Ward told Cullen the warden "tried to get you messed up yesterday".
The following month Cullen was interviewed concerning the Henderson investigation and the next day he was unexpectantly dismissed from the drug rehabilitation program. Lacking any documentation of failing to obey program rules, he was transferred to a maximum security section.
"Immediately upon his arrival, he was assaulted by inmates. Cullen believes this is because he had been pegged as a snitch.
The investigation resulted in the WBI executing a search and seizure warrant at the SCDC March 8, 2007 and the County Commissioners suspended Henderson 13 days later with pay. On June 12, 2007, Henderson resigned after serving five years as warden as part of a deal to avoid prosecution. Henderson was rehired by Somerset County as director of Animal Control in Februaury 2008.
The State Police investigation corroborates what the court filing alleges in the Cullen case, but also reveals complaints made by other inmates of assaults on them by jail personnel including Warden Henderson. The case was filed last month in federal court and all parties have been served. The Local Government Insurance Trust will represent Somerset County and Henderson.
Complete article Crisfield-Somerset County Times, Feb 17, 2010
For actual court filings HERE
DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
Friday, February 19, 2010
Ex-Warden And Somerset County Being Sued For $5 Million
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
50 comments:
If this man did this to humans,I hate to think what he might be doing to the animals at animal control. I say he needs to serve time where he did this. Let the prisoners give him a taste of his own medicine! What goes around comes around!
Hey folks this is Somerset County and the good old boy system.The Henderson name is in that crycle.Thats why he was hired to fill dog catcher position. Before he was saent to ECI he was ready to be fired from the DOC. Besides with Cullen back in jail this month for violation of Parole wouldnt it be justice to have both as prisoners.
The Cullen who filed the suit, is not back in jail. I think that you have him mixed up with another relative,
These suits are a dime a dozen because the rights the liberals have given inmates. All a bunch of B.S.
Who cares what jailors do to inmates? Those people don't deserve any rights. The job of the jailor is to keep the inmates separate from society. What they do in their spare time doesn't concern me.
Inmates are still human beings and do not deserve to be treated any less than such. They are to be treated without malice. People in uniform are not above the law....they have a job and a responsiblity and it is depicable when that is taken advantage of. How can anyone say that certain people do not 'deserve' rights?
8:53, your comment is foolish. You sound like Henderson or one of his henchmen.
Unfortunately this is no longer a criminal case thanks to the prosecutors failure to bring any charges and allow statute of limitations to run out. However Henderson and the County can still be held responsibly civily. This is similar to the OJ Simpson case the way I see it.
Good Lord, here we go again. We are so sick of hearing about this. Lets put on energy on more important things than this stupid stuff. Why is this all dredged up again. We have sex offenders killing our children here in Salisbury and we are reading about an ex-inmate who wants to sue Somerset County and its employee for 5 Million Dollars. What is wrong with this picture. It is sad when we let something like this happen and we can't even protect our children from these ex-inmate molesters. People need to wake up!!!!
As usual a "reformed" inmate wants a $5,000,000.00 hand out. I think the system has spent way to much on him already!!!!!
Personally I do not care about this crap. I worked with Henderson at ECI and he was as fair as they come, hard but fair. Sometimes the more good you try to do to help someone the more you get craped on. This is what is happening here. The jail was operated the best it ever had been and that is a known fact.
I am just at a loss how Somerset County people can be so out of touch. Residents of Somerset - its time to take off the blinders. Just think about this circle of Good Ole Boys loose with your tax dollars- The County Administrator is Sam Boston - his brother-in-law is Rex Simpkins, who is a County Commissioner - The County Attorney is Kirk Simpkins, brother to Rex and brother-in-law to Sam. Sam Boston's wife, Becky is secretary to Kirk, her brother. Dana Boston is the son of Sam and Becky and has his fingers in the County pie too. Do you people not see the handwriting on the wall? This County is like Hazzard County and instead of one Boss Hogg - there are at least seven or eight on the loose. Now do you all honestly think that everything is on the up and up in this County? Perhaps between now and election time, you will remove the blinders, unless of course you are one of the chosen ones either relative or close friend of the Good Ole Boys.
Mr. Henderson, I hope you finally pay (because of what you did to my dogs)! You and Somerset County are evil.
An ordinary person cant get a government job in Somerset County,despite their credentials so its obvious Henderson is "someone",but it is embarassing to everyone in this county to have a man with his record running ANYTHING!He was run out of ECI,run out of the county jail and is rewarded with yet another cushy government post with sweet benefits?Thats the kind of thing that makes Somerset County a laughingstock.That being said,I think it is INSANE to reward an admitted drug addict with 5 million dollars.It IS jail.Should they mistreat inmates?No,but we cant go around giving every digruntled inmate a huge wad of cash either.
Sadly the system in Somerset will NEVER change as long as the families in control keep procreating and hiring their friends and family members.I am pretty sure if Henderson fouls up his dog catcher gig they will find something else for him.I prefer he works at the dump,where he cant abuse people OR animals.
If Mr. Hendeson took your dogs it was because you were not taking care of them or they were a menance to the neighborhood. I recently adopted a dog from Somerset County and Mr. Henderson and the staff were very professional. I have worked for the public for many years (and not in Somerset County)and you know what, you cannot make everyone happy. Good Luck Mr. Henderson, we are behind you 100%.
To 12:37- Yeah, right. If you keep patting yourself on the back about how Henderson ran such a good ship, then maybe you won't be bending your elbow so much at Spike's. If everything was so honkey dorey at the jail under Henderson's leadership, why did the search at the jail reveal so many safety and sanitary concerns, that it took weeks to correct. It was reported that the place was filthy, and that there were many other issues with document alterations, etc. Doesn't sound like much of a manager to me. What other manager goes out and gets drunk and goes to his place of employment and abuses other persons. It would not be tolerated anywhere but in Somerset County.
Fortunately 12:58 your postitive experiences came from another county without the corruption of Somerset and thriving 'good ole boy network'.
That is the way local government should function, not like DYSFUNCTIONAL Somerset.
I'm sure Henderson puts his best foot forward to potential adoptee families.
He's not that stupid...perverse, sadistic, and egotistical, yes.
Tell us what he did to your dogs 12:44, some folks seem to believe Henderson is a saint. I've never had any encounter with him but I've heard horror stories about him and the way he treats people. It would seem that the county would not want a man with his reputation working in any capacity.
Hey I wanna know how Sam Boston was appointed as County Administrator without an advertisement of the position. Oh that's right, the Commissioners can hire a garbage truck driver if they want. So much for Somerset County being an Equal Opportunity Employer. I guess when you don't have the credentials that is a great way to bypass them. Oh by the way Somerset County people, do you happen to see the big red trucks and excavating equipment working on all those County projects? Well thats the hubby of Mr. Boston's niece. Of course you know the County doesn't have to take the lowest bid, per the comment in the paper by the Commissioners - wait a minute - whose money are they spending? That's right Somerset County Tax payers its your money, cause last time I checked Somerset County was in the State of Maryland, whether its budgeted money or grant money, it all flows from the same source -Taxpayers. Just one other note - Somerset County has one of the highest personal income taxes in the State of Maryland, while being one of the poorest counties - who set that amount for the taxpayers? Three guesses.
Say what you want but there needs to be some justice served in this case. The fact that Henderson was not charged criminally in this case should be criminal in itself. As for as Henderson doing a good job at ECI, that to is false. Check out case search and you will find an administrative case against him that resulted in him being forced to resign. That case cost the State a lot of money as I understand it. I agree that a lot of inmate lawsuits are frivolus but this one is the real deal. Anyone siding with Henderson has to be friend or family and ignoring the facts of the case.
Did Henderson not smash a TV on an inmate's head and was still hired as detention center warden?
The county commissioners conveniently overlooked that little anger problem.
Another inmate, see State Police report, was sprayed with mace,allowed to encrust on his body, then dragged to the shower with the hottest water.(The burnung is greater the hotter the water.)
Of course, all this where there were no cameras or inoperable cameras.
No one likes to see tax payers money spent on lawsuits. That is exactly why the commissioners should hire reputably people. Any background investigation at all would have revealed that Henderson should not have been hired as a Warden and not even animal control. I would even disagree with bluetothetoothmon and say he really shouldn't even work at the landfill. He has cost Somerset county to much money as it is and it's time for him to go.
Henderson intimidated inmates and his employees. Many feared for their lives if his actions were reported. It was well known Henderson often returned after hours clad in all black, including black gloves with alcohol on his breath.
I just followed the link to the filing and if even 10% of it is true someone needs to pony up. Where was the ACLU in all of this? If this activity had occured at Gitmo we would have watched it unfold on FOX and CNN. It't sad that terrorist have more rights than inmates in Somerset county jail.
3.14 sounds like it was a smart business decision but I believe he was working for the county way before he married and before Boston was in politics.
I live in the county and pay endless taxes and I too want to know more..why are all these family members still running things, we all vote dont we? Me and dana boston are the same age went to school together, nice guy but in no way deserves the high ranking job he has, straight up cake boy!
Yeah inmates are people too..people who have more rights then you..they get to play playstations now..thanks to the bleeding hearts
8:46 Just in case you didn't know 4 out of 5 of the county commissioner are just that (liberal democrats) who suck up to Martin O'Malley. Maybe they are the ones to blame for this problem. Maybe it's time to get rid of them and get some real leadership in Somerset.
cover-up, cover-up, cover-up, how's that Obama O'Malley transparency working for you.
You make a lot of good points 3:14 but you probably will not get any logical answers from local officials.
Where is your evidence 12:37??? Just because YOU say something, doesn't make it true.
where in the hell do you get your information? That guy (cullen) has been a waste of sperm and taxpayer money for years any mistreatment he may have gotten has been a long time in the making.
Wow, Gary, hope you win! You won't have to steal anymore! Five million ought to be good for at least a year or two of heroin and crack! Good Luck! The stuff in my garage will be safe for a while!
reading this makes me sick seeing that Cullen is able to sue the county like that look a inmate that was locked up for numerous things well i know the cullens some good some bad but he didn't do this all himself i guarantee "Daddy" has his hands in this also as a matter of fact thats who got the ball rolling
Sounds like old Jimmy is getting a wee bit nervous. Anyone with a brain knows that this case isn't about anything other than high crimes committed by James L. Henderson and condoned by the Somerset County commissioners. I get my information from many sources, thank you.
Congratulations to anyone and everyone who got the ball rolling. A degenerate like James L. Henderson belongs in prison, not working for the county.
If Mr. Cullen gets 5 mil, minus lawyer's fees, he'll OD in a month, and the county will save at least part of the payout in future jail costs.
Henderson won't get out of this one. Watch and see.
They will need the extra money to fight future lawsuits brought on by Hendersons actions against underlings and the public that he serves.
A lot of negativity and name calling but not one legitimate comment suggesting that Henderson didn't do what he is accused of. Keep us updated Joe.
Go read the court filings. The stuff uncovered by the State Police investigation will make you sick.
Taxpayer money going to pay the salary of that degenerate Henderson. He really thought he was god.
Too bad all those others he abused can't sue that b.....
I hope all this comes out in court.
It's gonna cost them.
But what can you expect when he's fired from ECI for abusing/assaulting inmates and County Commissioners IGNORING that history,then hire that saddist Henderson again as dog catcher?
This county has slow lesarners.
I understand that Henderson has been heard bragging that he is getting sued, again. This man just doesn't get it. I would be mortified to think that my actions were constantly putting my employer at risk. He apparently is quoting a Davis Ruark remark that Cullen is not credible. Maybe he is not, but the Wicomico Bureau of Investigation certainly is. What I see in the suit filing is certainly substantiated in the WBI report. This man is a danger and the longer he is protected by the Somerset County Commissioners, the more of a threat he will become to society and to the Commissioners. Wake up! I am sure that this will be getting a lot of press as things progress with the legal system and after all it is an election year and will be very fresh in the voters minds.
Simply inexcuseable!
Eventually this happens to all the corrupt police and prison type. You listening, Sheriff?
I saw in the paper that the sheriff was going to run again. I guess he wants to be like Strum Thurman and stay in office until he is a hundred. We have never needed term limits more than we do today. Everyone from the president to the dog catcher. After 4 years, 90% of them or on the take. If anyone runs against this sheriff and pack of commissioners we should be in for some lively debate. CSPAN material no doubt.
No matter what the outcome of this lawsuit is, the county looks like a fool. The circumstances leading up to this action appear to have been completly avoidable. Bad decisions were made at every level. All is fare in love and war so if Henderson was rewarded with a new job, maybe Cullen should be rewarded with at least a little cash.
He died the way he treated the inmates at SCDC... NEVER REJOICING IN HIS DEATH, BUT GOOD RIDDANCE!
all inmates are moleaters ? I think you have unresolved childhood issues.
Post a Comment