To: Disciplinary Hearing Board
From: Jimmy Jones
RE: Prisoner’s Defense Statement to Conduct Report MCF 18-11-0037
I now submit this statement on behalf of my defense against this charge made against me by c/o Callaway and request that it be made a part of the record of these proceedings in accordance to the right of due process granted to me by the Indiana Department of Correction, Adult Disciplinary Procedures Policy 02-04-101.
Let it be noted for the record that I object to the charge class A-102 “Battery” as it is currently defined in the ADP policy 02-04-101 Appendix I issued June 4, 2018. That definition represented a significant change in the policy requiring that the commissioner had to issue an executive directive addressing the specific changes to the definition of that class A-102 offense and that ED made available to all IDOC prisoners and staff for it to be valid. That never happened in this case. The ADP policy 02-04-101 Appendix I issued June 4, 2018 was in conjunction with ED #18-24 that the Commissioner issued to notify all prisoners and staff of the upgrading of two class C offenses, C-352 and C-364, to their current class B offenses status. Nowhere in ED #18-24 does it mention or lay out changes in the definition of the class A-102 offense, eliminating the elements of the use of a weapon and/or resulting in serious injury. So now as it is being defined, the class A-102 “Battery” has no distinguishable elements from its lesser included offense of class B-212 “Battery”. This new Appendix has given us two identical offenses with two separate levels of sanctions, one significantly more severe than the other. Now it is possible for someone who merely “touches” another to be charged with the same offense as someone who assaults another with a weapon and/or results in serious injury.
How does this reflect the purpose of the ADP as it is outlined in policy 02-04-101 Appendix II which states “…these procedures serve as a means for the Department to manage prisoners in a just and fair manner.” What is just and fair about staff having the ability to manipulate these disciplinary procedures for the purpose of vindictive retribution, which I will demonstrate is exactly what c/o Callaway has done here.
On November 1, 2018 at approximately 1:38pm c/o Callaway had me submit to a strip search in the back room of EHU sally port. I complied and during this strip search c/o Callaway noticed a cellphone on the floor, causing him to immediately pull out his OC spray and threaten to spray me with it. The fact that having complied with his orders I was stripped down to nothing but my socks and boxers at this point and posed no physical threat gave c/o Callaway no reason to pull out his OC spray which turned the entire situation hostile. Fearing the possibility of him spraying me with this chemical agent I said “Don’t fucking spray me,” and proceeded to pick the phone up off the ground and hand it to him. C/o Callaway reacted to this by spraying me in the face with his OC spray. Though in his conduct report he claims that I threatened him by saying “If you sprays me I’m fuck you up” and that his reason for spraying me with his OC spray was because I moved toward him in an “aggressive manner” none of which is true. But here all you have is his word against mine and I ask that you consider the facts that are not in dispute to draw a logical conclusion of the truth. C/o Callaway needing to justify his use of the chemical agent claimed I moved toward him in an aggressive manner yet failed to describe what manner of aggression did I display. And he stated that I threatened to “fuck him up” if he sprayed me with his OC spray but admits that when he sprayed me I fled the room. Those are the facts that clearly make c/o Callaway’s claims suspect.
After he sprayed me with his OC spray I immediately fled the back room of the sally port trying to get away from the harsh chemical agent and put distance between myself and c/o Callaway so there was no longer any perceived threat. Both he and I knew that the main door to the unit was secure and that I was in my socks and boxers so I could not go anywhere. At this point all c/o Callaway had to do was wait for further assistance from additional staff who were in route in response to the signal he had called. The unit’s surveillance cameras clearly show me at this point with my back up against the door and c/o Callaway advancing toward me continuing to spray me with OC spray. I have my hand up trying to protect my face and as he advances toward me I am forced to try to avoid him by attempting to make it back to the safety of the back room. Note that during this entire time c/o Callaway is not yelling at me orders to “get down” or anything. Instead he is becoming more aggressive and when I move around him attempts to charge me, leaning forward and lunging for my legs. As he grabs hold of my legs I have no other choice but to lean over the top of his back. This contact was the result of his aggressive actions, not mine. While he is struggling to take my legs out from under me, I began to hear the arrival of additional officers so I laid on the ground to demonstrate I was not a threat with my arms stretched out in front of me. C/o Callaway uses this as an opportunity to jump on my back, place me in an illegal choke hold, and proceed to choke me resulting in me losing consciousness and requiring medical treatment.
I swear that the above statement is a true and accurate account of the event on November 1, 2018 to the best of my knowledge of those events and seek that the charge against me be dismissed for lack of proof that I assaulted c/o Callaway.
