Update: Fitzpatrick: Monroe County Sheriff’s Department knew of impending assault

“IT’S NOT A COINCIDENCE”

by Sharon Rondeau

(Dec. 17, 2010) — Walter Fitzpatrick has reported this morning that the inmate who tried to punch him in the face yesterday has been formally charged with assault.

Updating yesterday’s report, Fitzpatrick stated Detective Travis Jones of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department met with him at approximately 3:42 p.m. on Thursday afternoon following the attack.  Fitzpatrick said he “made it clear” that he will be filing a complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation against the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department upon his release from the detention facility.

Fitzpatrick questioned why he has been moved five times since he entered the jail on October 27, 2010.  “After I was checked in here, I was put in Cell 10; then within a day I was moved to Cell #8 next, then moved into Cell #1 days later.  I spent a good period of time in Cell 1 before being moved from there into Cell #5, and then last Friday, on the tenth of December, I was moved back into Cell #8 for no reason at all.  That makes five moves in 52 days.  There’s something going on with that.  There are men who have been here and stayed in one cell for months at a time.  So this “musical cells” was planned.  There’s something going on.  I can tell you that upon reflecting upon it, Mr. Click’s provocation was dedicated.  He raised up, over and over again, his outrage or his anger or his problem with the fact that I was challenging the grand jury.  There’s more to this; it’s not a coincidence.”

In regard to the safety and well-being of inmates, the Tennessee Code Annotated states:

TCA Section 41-4-101 states:

The sheriff of the county has, except in cases otherwise provided by law, the custody and charge of the jail of the county and of all prisoners committed to the jail and may appoint a jailer, for whose acts the sheriff is civilly responsible.

It appears that the inmate’s assault on Fitzpatrick can be added to a lengthy list of civil rights complaints against the Monroe County Sheriff’s Department.

Fitzpatrick has reported overcrowding and numerous inmates who actually belong in the state prison system but are being held in the Monroe County jail “against their will.”  Tennessee Code Annotated section 41-8-106 states that a county jail is reimbursed for such inmates, who are not included in the head count of the facility.

Ms. Peggy Sawyer of the Tennessee Corrections Institute obviously kept her word to The Post & Email and ordered an inspection of the jail as reported by Fitzpatrick yesterday.  Initial verbal reports made to The Post & Email which had reportedly come from the jailers stating that the inspectors “had never seen a jail so clean” were evidently mistaken.

The report of the assault on Fitzpatrick has been communicated to both the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. As of 2:30 Friday afternoon, we have spoken with the Public Information Officer at the Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts  (AOC) regarding our questions on courts and court  transcript procedures.

We also have not received a return call from Ms. Denise Barnes from December 15 at 4:00 p.m., when we contacted her to request a copy of the June 28 Fitzpatrick arraignment transcript.  We were told we would receive a call back as to where to send the money and to whom in order to obtain the document, a copy of which was posted on the internet almost immediately following the hearing.  Ms. Martha Cook, Circuit Court Clerk, has stated that the court does not have a copy.

A website dedicated to Tennessee police, judicial and other acts of misconduct on the part of public officials is updated daily.  According to various sourced articles on the site, sheriff’s deputies and police have been charged and/or convicted of wrongful death, inflicting head injuries on a suspect, and “stealing $29,467 worth of money, weapons and other property from the police department.”

Of the physical attack yesterday, Fitzpatrick stated, “That was done with dedicated provocation.”

Update, December 18, 2010: Ms. Denise Barnes, Monroe County court transcriptionist, contacted The Post & Email this morning and gave us the information on where and to whom to send a money order for $33.00 for the June 28, 2010 Fitzpatrick arraignment transcript.  We will therefore be sending the money on Monday morning, which is to be sent to the court clerk, Ms. Martha Cook, as Ms. Barnes works from home.  The Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts has confirmed that court transcriptionists are allowed to work at home if that is more “comfortable” for them.

Walter Fitzpatrick confirmed last evening that he did sustain a mark to the right side of his face from the assault from Mr. Click and was seen by the jail nurse.  He reported that on December 16, when he first notified us of the assault, he had not been aware that any visible injuries had been sustained, hence his response of “None” to the question at that time.