Feds charge two corrections officers with assaulting youthful offenders
Three inmates held in the “Bravo” dormitory at a Miami-Dade facility for youthful offenders were accused of being disrespectful to two female correctional officers.
So, on a spring morning, two male officers took the inmates into the “mop closet” outside the dorm’s quads to teach them a lesson, according to federal authorities. There were no video security cameras.
Correctional officers Terrance Reynolds and Brendan Butler struck one of the inmates with both a broomstick and their fists while the others stood by, authorities say.
On Monday, Reynolds was arrested on charges of conspiring to violate the inmates’ civil rights and depriving them of those rights while in custody in March of last year at the South Florida Reception Center. The facility is operated at 14000 N.W. 41st St. in Doral by the Florida Department of Corrections. The Miami Herald series Fight Club in 2017 explored widespread abuses in youth facilities run by the Department of Juvenile Justice.
Reynolds, charged by indictment, made his first appearance in Miami federal court in the afternoon. The Florida Department of Corrections says it is in the process of dismissing Reynolds, 28, who was hired as a correctional officer in 2015.
Butler, 29, who cooperated with the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office, already pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge in May and was sentenced to two years in prison in August by U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke. Butler, who was hired as a correctional officer in 2014, resigned in the aftermath of the inmate attacks.
“The actions of these officers were unacceptable and do not reflect the thousands of FDC staff who perform their jobs with integrity every day,” FDC spokesman Patrick Manderfield said in a statement. “We commend the work of our inspector general’s office and law enforcement partners for ensuring they were charged appropriately.”
According to a statement filed with his plea deal, Butler and Reynolds took the three youthful offenders — inmates who are 24 years old or younger — into the mop closet to intimidate them on March 27, 2017. Once inside, Butler, a sergeant, and Reynolds tried to talk to the three inmates about disrespecting female correctional officers.
“After [youthful offender 1] laughed and talked back, [Butler] slapped [him] in the face,” the statement says. “In response, [youthful offender 1] tried to punch [Butler] but missed, then attempted to tackle [Butler].”
Butler brought the inmate to the floor of the mop closet, then told Reynolds that “this fight was a ‘one-on-one’ and ‘don’t jump in,’ ‘’ according to the statement.
A one-on-one is a fight between one correctional officer and one inmate, even if other officers are present and able to assist. Though one-on-ones violate state correctional facility rules, the practice was “commonplace” at the South Florida Reception Center and used to establish respect and resolve conflicts instead of sending inmates to confinement, according to federal prosecutors Robert Senior and Samantha Trepel.
But the fight with youthful offender 1 escalated beyond the one-on-one with Butler.
“After the altercation started in the mop closet, Reynolds took [youthful offender 2 and 3] out of the mop closet and then returned with a broomstick in hand,” according to the statement filed with Butler’s plea deal.
“The broomstick was physically used on [youthful offender 1] by Reynolds ... and the confrontation ended minutes later,” the statement says.
Prosecutors said medical photos taken about four days later showed large welts and bruises on the inmate’s lower extremities.
On March 28, 2017, youthful offender 3 was accused of spreading a rumor that Butler had been beaten up by youthful offender 1 in the mop closet. Youthful offender 3 was taken to solitary confinement in the “Echo” dormitory.
Butler and Reynolds agreed to visit youthful offender 3 in the Echo dorm, where he was already sitting handcuffed in the breezeway. Reynolds removed his handcuffs and told him to go to the “disciplinary review” room.
Once inside, Reynolds and youthful offender 3 engaged in a one-on-one, with the officer punching him in the stomach and forcing him to the floor, the statement says. Meanwhile, Butler asked the inmate why he was spreading false rumors about the mop closet fight. Butler then slapped and punched [him] a few times in the stomach.
After the two correctional officers finished with him, the inmate was placed in restraints on a bench in the Echo dorm breezeway.
This story was originally published December 17, 2018 at 4:13 PM.