http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070710/NEWS02/707100389
Article published Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Deputies' trial opens in 'abuse of power' case
Officers say boy, 15, was difficult to handle
Jacob Sanford, 15, sat in a cell at the Lucas County Juvenile Justice Center shaking and crying while the two sheriff's deputies who violated his civil rights "went off to concoct a lie," a federal prosecutor said.
But while prosecutors with the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division call the actions of Deputies Troy Jackson and Marc Odoms an "abuse of power," defense attorneys painted a picture of two men who were trying to restrain an unruly youth.
The trial for the two deputies accused of both civil rights and obstruction charges began with opening statements yesterday in U.S. District Court in Toledo.
Federal authorities alleged that on Jan. 20, 2005, Deputy Jackson assaulted the handcuffed teenager several times in the face and that Deputy Odoms failed to intervene.
They also are accused of lying about the incident in departmental reports and giving false testimony at the teenager's trial on felony assault.
"This is a case about abuse of power, of two law enforcement officers who took it upon themselves to punish a misbehaving 15-year-old boy, not within the limits of the law, but by beating him and then lying about it," Kristy Parker, a Washington-based prosecutor, told the jury of 11 women and two men. "A sworn law enforcement officer punched an unresisting, handcuffed juvenile in the face while another sworn officer watched."
Prosecutors called several witnesses yesterday, including civilian staff members of the Juvenile Justice Center and law enforcement officers who offer training in proper ways to restrain resisting detainees.
A former nurse at the Juvenile Justice Center testified about the injuries Jacob sustained while in the intake area of the facility.
Kathleen Zielinski, who was let go as an employee of the center, said she observed bruising and swelling around Jacob's left eye, his face, and his neck.
In fact, she was concerned enough about the extent of the injuries that she requested that Jacob be taken to a local emergency room for X-rays to determine whether his eye socket or cheek bones had been fractured, she said.
With photos she took displayed for the jury, Ms. Zielinski said Jacob told her he was thrown on the floor and punched in the face by a deputy.
Ms. Zielinski also testified that she encountered Deputy Jackson on her way to examine Jacob and that he told her the boy attempted to head-butt him, but that the 4-foot, 11-inch, 120-pound Jacob had only been able to reach his shirt pocket.
Cleveland-based attorney Dominic Vitantonio, who is representing Deputy Jackson, pointed out that Ms. Zielinski was not an eyewitness to what took place within the center when Jacob was being brought into the intake area.
Both prosecutors and the defense acknowledged that the teenager was combative and that he resisted each of the personnel attempting to subdue him.
Mr. Vitantonio said the teenager was able to head-butt Deputy Jackson before they could bring him under control.
"They were doing their job - an ugly job, and they were doing it under difficult circumstances," Mr. Vitantonio said during his opening statement.
Deputy Odoms' attorney, Clyde Bennett of Cincinnati, questioned the witnesses about whether they knew Deputy Odoms was present when Deputy Jackson was trying to restrain the teenager.
The witnesses who testified yesterday could not say if he was.
Mr. Bennett told the jury that the only reason Deputy Odoms was in court was because "he attempted to assist another deputy in controlling an inmate."
But prosecutors said both men should have known how to deal with a hysterical inmate without using what they believed was excessive force.
Sheriff's Deputy Matthew Luettke, a trainer for the department, testified that each deputy is trained in the use of force.
He added that each deputy is required to sign a Use of Force Policy as well as an Oath of Office, which requires each deputy to swear to uphold the laws of both the U.S. and Ohio constitutions.
The deputies each face up to 10 years in prison and fines of $250,000 if found guilty of the criminal charges.
Deputy Odoms, who also is accused of making false statements, faces an additional five years in prison.
Both men were cleared of wrongdoing in an internal investigation and maintain positions with the sheriff's department.
A spokesman for the department could not be reached for comment yesterday.
The trial, which began Friday with jury selection, will resume today, with Judge Jack Zouhary presiding. It is expected to last all week.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070713/NEWS02/707130412/-1/NEWS
Article published Friday, July 13, 2007
Lucas County deputies not guilty in case of injured teen
Judge says inmate's rights not violated
With joyful family members surrounding him, Lucas County Sheriff's Deputy Troy Jackson said last night he was just doing his job the day he encountered a combative youth in the county's Juvenile Detention Center - a situation that landed him in the federal court system facing charges of civil rights violations.
Deputy Jackson and his colleague, Deputy Marc Odoms, were found not guilty last night of obstructing justice and violating the civil rights of a 15-year-old boy in their custody.
Deputy Jackson was exonerated of charges that he punched the teenager in the face and then lied about it.
Deputy Odoms was found not guilty of failing to intervene in the alleged beating and accusations that he lied on both departmental reports about the Jan. 20, 2005, incident and to the FBI agent who was investigating.
"I was doing my job," a visibly relieved Deputy Jackson said after the verdict. "That's all that I did, my job."
Cincinnati-based attorney Clyde Bennett, who represented Deputy Odoms, said that his client was elated by the verdict.
Deputy Odoms, who declined to comment, was surrounded by his family, who thanked both jurors and God for the deputy's acquittal.
"He told me that he can now sleep," Mr. Bennett said. "He can resume his normal life."
Although in the courtroom during closing arguments, the teenager and his parents were not present for the verdict. When contacted through their attorney, they declined comment.
The verdict came after four days of testimony in U.S. District Court in Toledo. A jury of 10 women and 2 men deliberated for nearly seven hours yesterday before returning not-guilty verdicts on the three counts each of the deputies faced.
Prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division declined comment yesterday, referring all questions to the division's public relations department.
During the trial, with Judge Jack Zouhary presiding, federal prosecutors alleged that Deputy Jackson punched a handcuffed teenager in his face while Deputy Odoms watched, failing to intervene.
Defense attorneys countered that the teenager assaulted Deputy Jackson with a head-butt, a likely cause of his injuries, and continued to be combative until he was eventually subdued.
"He didn't do it, they didn't do it," said Deputy Jackson's attorney, Dominic Vitantonio, of Cleveland. "The whole incident was blown way out of proportion."
During closing arguments, prosecutors painted a picture of a vengeful deputy who was angered by an unruly youth.
Jacob Sanford, now 18, testified during the trial about what happened to him the day he was brought into the detention center after being handcuffed during a juvenile hearing.
He said that he was knocked to the floor, dragged into a holding cell, and punched in the face, all while being handcuffed.
Photos of the teenager's face at the time showed what prosecutors called "severe injuries," including swelling, bruises, and a black eye.
Testifying on behalf of the government during the trial were several civilian staff members of the Juvenile Justice Center, medical doctors, and Lucas County sheriff's deputies who were staffing the intake area at the time of the incident.
The deputies already had been cleared of wrongdoing in a departmental review and have maintained their jobs at the sheriff's department.
Throughout the trial, and during Deputy Odoms' testimony, the pair maintained that the teenager had been the aggressor and that Deputy Jackson had only used an appropriate amount of force to subdue the teenager.
- Erica Blake
