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Sheriff to Shut Boot Camp
The Bay County Sheriff Says He
Will Cancel the Camp's Contract in 90 Days: Its "Integrity ... Has Been
Compromised."
By CURTIS KRUEGER, LETITIA STEIN and ABBIE
VANSICKLE
Published February 22, 2006
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A Panama City juvenile boot camp will be shut down
and Hillsborough County State Attorney Mark Ober will investigate the
death of a teenager who had been beaten by guards at the camp.
In rapid-fire developments Tuesday, the treatment
of another boy raised new questions about operations at the camp, and
the medical examiner who concluded the teenager died of a blood disorder
renewed his medical license, which expired last month.
Despite the controversy, Gov. Jeb Bush reaffirmed
his support of Florida's five boot camps.
"I believe that boot camps are worth having," said
Bush, who appointed Ober as special prosecutor. "We need to learn from
this tragic case and make some standard, regulatory proposals to the
Legislature."
Boot camps are military-style programs designed to
shock juvenile delinquents into complying with the law and to teach them
discipline, study skills and work habits. They require rigorous physical
training such as pushups and running.
Several lawmakers want all the boot camps closed in
light of a security video showing guards at the Bay County facility
beating Martin Lee Anderson even as he gave little or no resistance.
Medical Examiner Charles Siebert concluded the
teenager died of sickle cell trait, not from the beating. But even Bush
questioned that conclusion.
"If he wasn't beat up, that undetected illness
wouldn't have caused death," Bush said.
The governor appointed Ober to investigate the
death. Bay County State Attorney Steve Meadows begged off because of his
close ties to Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen.
Ober's investigation will include the autopsy, Bush
said, "to take a look at that evidence and put some new eyes on it."
McKeithen operates the boot camp under contract
with the state Department of Juvenile Justice. He has not spoken much
about the tragedy, saying he wanted to wait for the investigation to
conclude.
But Tuesday McKeithen announced he would cancel the
boot camp contract with the state in 90 days. He declined comment,
saying he would issue a written statement today.
"I believe the integrity of the boot camp in Bay
County has been compromised, leaving the effectiveness of this program
virtually paralyzed," he wrote to Anthony J. Schembri, who heads the
Department of Juvenile Justice. He wrote that he decided to close the
camp "after endless days of intense, thorough and careful
consideration."
McKeithen, who said he has seen "some very positive
results" from the boot camp, wrote that he wants to create a new
juvenile program "which we have been working on for several months."
Bay County Commission Chairman Mike Nelson said he
was happy with McKeithen's letter, which he read aloud at a commission
meeting Tuesday. He said commissioners already had their doubts about
the boot camp before Martin died because they were paying a fourth of
its $2-million budget even though most of the youths were from other
counties. Besides, he said, "how much success are they really having
with it?"
The teenager's parents said it wasn't enough to
close the boot camp. They still want authorities to acknowledge their
role in the death of their 14-year-old son.
"Certainly, they feel regret that their son had to
die to have changes come forth," said Benjamin Crump, the family's
attorney. "Nobody has accepted responsibility."
Earlier Tuesday, another allegation of poor medical
care at the Bay County boot camp surfaced.
Shauna Manning said her son, 14-year-old Aaron
Swartz, suffered from asthma. But medical professionals at the boot camp
refused to recognize his medical condition, she said.
She said her son described feeling dizzy after boot
camp authorities forced ammonia pills in his face. He complained to his
mother about physical punishments, including knee kicks and pressure
point contact, similar to what the video show guards used on the
teenager.
No parent would treat a 14-year-old child like
that, Manning said.
"If we do this, we're going to jail for child
abuse," she said.
After the teenager's death, Manning said the camp
brought in a doctor who found her son's asthma prevented him from
participating in the program. He was transferred to another juvenile
facility.
When Siebert concluded Martin died of natural
causes, he was practicing without a medical license. His license expired
Jan. 31 and he did not renew it - until Tuesday.
He renewed it in person in Tallahassee, said Doc
Kokol, spokesman for the Florida Department of Health. Siebert will be
fined $385 for practicing without a license for a month.
First-time offenders like Siebert generally aren't
disciplined further, Kokol said. Fewer than 3 percent of physicians
whose licenses must be renewed fail to do so in an average year, Kokol
said.
The teen's family is challenging his report, though
they have not said how they will do so.
Options include filing a complaint with the state
Medical Examiners Commission and asking an independent pathologist to
review the files, photographs and slides that Siebert made during the
autopsy. The family also could exhume the body for a new autopsy.
"We haven't ruled anything out," said Crump, the
attorney.
The Medical Examiners Commission looks to see "if
something was just blatantly overlooked, or somebody had drawn the wrong
conclusions," said Stephen Nelson, commission chairman and Polk County's
medical examiner.
Cynthia Lorenzo, a spokeswoman for the Department
of Juvenile Justice, said boot camps are one of several programs used to
rehabilitate "moderate risk" youths. The agency's own reviews, along
with consultation with legislators, will help determine if "this is
still a viable option."
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