Rat Trap Triggers Fears About a ‘Code of Silence’ by Guards

Leaders of the guards union at a state penitentiary in Imperial County hung a rat trap on a prison bulletin board after a captain filed a report accusing three employees of using excessive force on an inmate.

The trap was accompanied by a flier stating that the union wanted to “catch” the captain and the prison’s acting warden to confront them about the allegations.

Corrections officials say the trap -- suggesting that the captain was “ratting” on his colleagues -- underscores the “code of silence” that has discouraged some officers from reporting misconduct. Last year, state Corrections Secretary Roderick Q. Hickman issued a memo proclaiming “zero tolerance” for the code and warning that those who foster it could be fired.

The rat trap “is exactly the type of intimidation practice” that Hickman had in mind, said Todd Slosek, spokesman for the Department of Corrections. “This type of activity is entirely unacceptable -- completely unprofessional -- and will not be tolerated under his leadership.”

The union, the California Correctional Peace Officers Assn., has since removed the trap from its bulletin board at Calipatria State Prison in Imperial. Replacing it is a two-page memo from chapter President Chris Trott, who insisted that the display was “misinterpreted” and was not intended to perpetuate “any type of code of silence.”

In the memo, Trott said he decided to remove the trap after an internal affairs agent told him that it was hindering an investigation of the excessive-force episode.

Trott also said union officials had “absolutely no issue with the captain reporting what he believed was misconduct,” but that they thought he acted prematurely, before all reports on the incident were submitted.

“The facts contained within these reports could have eliminated the basis for these allegations of misconduct,” Trott said.

He added that the rat trap was a “tactic” used with another goal in mind: alerting prison leaders in Sacramento to management problems at Calipatria. Trott’s memo did not identify those problems, and he did not respond to a telephone message left at the prison Thursday by The Times.

The employees -- a sergeant, an officer and a medical technician -- have been placed on paid leave while Department of Corrections internal affairs agents investigate.

Lt. Ray Madden, a prison spokesman, would not discuss what sort of excessive force was used against the inmate, Adron Cowains, 24, who is serving a 25 years-to-life sentence for attempted murder.

Madden said the April 6 incident followed an assault by Cowains on a medical technician just before the inmate was to be seen at the medical clinic in the prison’s Facility B.

The technician, whose name was not disclosed, was searching Cowains when she found what turned out to be a crudely fashioned knife in his pocket. The inmate then spun around and hit her in the face, leaving her with a laceration and black eye, Madden said.

A sergeant and an officer helped restrain Cowains and escort him to a holding cell area. The alleged unnecessary force occurred at the clinic and near the holding cells, Madden said. The inmate had scratches on his wrist but no other visible injuries.

Among those responding and helping to restrain Cowains was correctional Capt. Serschel Leapheart, who is in charge of Facility B. Leapheart reported, orally and in writing, the possible use of excessive force to Acting Warden Stuart Ryan, who made the decision to place the employees on leave, Madden said.

That action, Madden said, “upset” union officials, who have been openly critical of Ryan. In addition to the rat trap, the union also posted a display that read, “2005: The Year of Shame,” and had the warden’s picture.

Madden said reaction to the rat trap inside prison walls was mixed: “Some people felt it was unprofessional, that while they may not like what the administration did, that action was not appropriate.” Others, he said, “are very pro-union and like the direction they’re taking.”

The rat trap is not the first provocative posting on a guards union bulletin board. At Calipatria and other prisons, the union in recent months has displayed material critical of Hickman, whom the group’s leaders have called a disgrace to their profession and nicknamed “Spud.”

Among the actions that have irked union members was Hickman’s declaration of “zero tolerance” for the code of silence.

At state Senate hearings last year, three current and former corrections employees testified that guards who witness abuse and other misconduct in California’s prisons rarely report it for fear of isolation by fellow officers and reprisals from superiors. One whistle-blower wore a bullet-proof vest and requested protection from the California Highway Patrol.

Later, Hickman ordered training for all employees on the code of silence.

Union leaders, meanwhile, have insisted that there is no code of silence.