Once before when I had to speak with a duty officer, the "low" prison employees told me there was no one there so I had called the medium and spoke with the duty officer for the compound. For what it's worth, during visiting times, BOP rules require that there is an officer on duty - a "duty officer" - to address any issues.
I was placed on hold for over eight minutes, then a man answered and identified himself as "Lieutenant French." I informed him that I had been abused by Sissell and I wanted to file a complaint against him. Like the BOPer who first answered my call, French also told me I would have to call and speak with someone Monday. I then told him about my interactions with Sissell. As I was doing so, I saw other visitors walking across the grass and going inside; no one yelled at any of them. French then told me that the duty officer, who he identified as "Patrick", would be there in the lobby to speak with me shortly. I thanked him and left my car to return to the building, as many other visitors had entered. As I was walking on the sidewalk, EIGHT visitors walked across the grass and entered the building, with no one saying anything to them at all.
Once inside, I approached the desk, picked up a visitor form and asked Cleaves for Patrick. There was a man on the telephone at the desk who I had not seen before. Cleaves told me Patrick would be there shortly and for me to wait in the area where visitors fill out their forms. I went there, filled out my form and waited.
After a few minutes, the man who had been on the phone came to the waiting area and called me out, at which time he introduced himself as Patrick. I went outside with him. Without otherwise speaking or listening, he told me I would not be allowed to visit today and that I had to leave the property. I objected, stating I had done nothing wrong, and that I had been abused by Sissell. He again told me I could not visit my husband. I asked why and protested that he was being unfair, that he was not even asking me what happened or giving me the opportunity to tell him. "I know what happened, I've heard about it from the others, and you can't visit today," he said.
As I was telling him what had transpired, two other visitors walked across the grass to enter the building. We were standing directly outside the building, and I had told him that the sign had been taken down, including indicating where the sign had previously been placed under a tree, and that since that time, both visitors and prison employees regularly walk across the grass. I had also pointed out that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, federal law with which the prison is bound to comply, handicapped persons are required to be allowed the most direct access to the entry of the building. Back to the two visitors. Only when I said, "you see?" did he say anything to them, telling them they could not walk on the grass. One of them responded, "Okay, well, that's new." Almost as an afterthought, Patrick asked them for their IDs. They questioned him, expressed their surprise and how unusually they were being treated - supporting my claims entirely - then handed him their IDs. Refusing to listen to THE TRUTH, Patrick did exactly what all prison employees have been trained to do: BACK EACH OTHER UP AND ABUSE VISITORS - me, particularly. As I begged to be allowed to visit my husband, he ordered me to leave, threatening that if I did not, he would call the sheriff and have me arrested and removed. "For what?" I asked. "You are being belligerent, and it's not the first time," he responded - a completely false statement. At no time did I raise my voice; at no time did I use profanity or harsh language - all I did was question the Gestapo tactics of the thug prison employee, Sissell. Yet, as always, it doesn't matter that there is no rule I violated or that there was nothing I did wrong and it doesn't matter that I had been abused - AGAIN - by the prison employees, who do whatever they want with no accountability for criminal and civil rights violations of innocent visitors - specifically, me.
I returned to my car and as I was preparing to leave and make additional calls, the two visitors who had walked across the grass while I was begging Patrick to let me visit my husband - my RIGHT, NOT a privilege - returned to their car as yet another group of visitors walked across the grass. I was concerned they were also not being allowed to visit, but they told me one of them just had to change her shirt.
JB: So you had to then turn around and drive another 300 miles home? Without getting to see Gary?
JW: I was and am devastated.
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