Recreation and Racism (DAR 856)

Date: Friday, September 23, 2016

Officer Faulkner / DAR /856 and Sgt. Cole denied inmates their soccer time after their 30 minutes of basketball. Officer Faulkner at 10:15 a.m. approximately made a highly offensive racial slur comment towards all African-American inmates (being one himself), saying: “If you’re not Mexican, you can’t play soccer, and Mexicans can’t play basketball.” This was after the fact of him originally stopping inmates from playing basketball. Inmates and Faulkner debated play time. Faulkner proclaimed 30 minutes recreation time, inmates argued one hour due to the fact that Hispanic inmates in pod 5A never play soccer, they willingly give their recreation to the African-American inmates to have additional basketball time. Faulkner threatened all inmates on the court  at this time that if they continued to play he would lock them back in their cells. They gave the officer the basketball and requested the soccer ball. He said no, and then made the comment that offended all inmates, Hispanics included. Sgt. Cole was called to the pod 5A to be a mediator. Instead of resolving the issue, he told inmates flat out they would only receive 30 minutes recreation time and no one would be allowed soccer time. Inmates banded together to form this petition in reference to violation of our rights as detainees and to point out correction officers’ unprofessionalism, by approaching the kiosk to file grievances, and when Sgt. Cole witnessed this he said to inmates that if a single grievance was filed he would take recreation time for the entire weekend he was on duty. Officer Faulkner maybe was overwhelmed by the situation and right in front of Sgt. Cole called every inmate “little Niggers.” He should no longer be allowed to work in this pod knowing this is his outlook towards us as a Black/Hispanic community. Michael Andrews as overseer of this facility, we expect something to be done about this immediately.

-W.M.

–Page signed by 44 inmates.