BY Jason Renard Walker 

OVERVIEW 

The Ellis unit is more than just your typical prison within the jurisdiction of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). It is a dream job for assaultive guards that are also aspiring police officers, and those wanting unlawful training in the profession of inflicting harm on innocent and unruly subjects. 

Huntsville Texas is home to the Ellis unit as well as several other men’s prisons. This town is historically known as being a stomping ground for openly racist, white supremacist groups. Many are attracted to working as correctional officers for the sole purpose of being in control of black and brown prisoners. As newbies, these guards quickly learn they can torment, humiliate and attack prisoners at will, while receiving a paycheck, immunity from retribution and supervisory assistance, so these ends can be achieved. 

Over a period of time and through trial and error they are taught how to favorably fabricate incident reports and witness statements so that their actions or failure to act is justified, with 100% blame being shifted to the unfortunate prisoner or unlikeable staff. 

For instance, as long as a guard writes a disciplinary case on a prisoner and states at the hearing that the report is true and correct, the prisoner is invariably found guilty based solely on the “officer’s report” and “officer’s testimony” regardless of the evidence he/she submits. 

On many occasions the disciplinary hearing officer will admit that the guilty verdict is a miscarriage of justice, but has to find you guilty per warden’s orders. This is a typical kangaroo court, a staff safety valve, that exists in many branches of the penal system, casting the illusion of being a constitutional recourse for prisoners to adequately challenge disciplinary charges being brought against them by staff. The former and latter immediately recognize that this channel is rigged and overtly biased. 

If researched correctly American prisons can be seen as microcosm worlds and farming systems for guards and staff that desire to be pre-trained for bigger occupations within the world that prisons tend to mirror. Here, prisoners can be used as test dummies, experiments and subjects for a trainee that expects substantial harm to occur many times to the subject, before they are qualified to practice on a citizen in the public. 

The helmets, riot batons and body armor that cell extractions teams wear in prisons are no different than the gear that police riot squads wear when they attack a peaceful protest in the streets of New York. The tear gas, and capsicum spray used before a prison cell extraction takes place is identical to that used against the rioters during the Ferguson, Missouri uprising. 

In this context many of these police officers deployed to the streets as a riot squad have, at one point or time, been on a cell extraction team in a prison or county jail – which is how some, or all of their hands-on experience with subduing a real time resister came about. 

This essay will focus on an ex TDCJ guard by the name of Brandon K. Pollock, who worked a short period of time at the Ellis unit, before quitting to become a patrolman for the Crockett police department — but only after being taught how to assault prisoners under the color of law and to collectively falsify state documents, in a failed effort to get away with it clean. 

Not only should a person like him, with no integrity and whose actions are inspired with racial animus, be banned from being a public official of any sort. This disgraceful figure and the system he was trained under should be put under the microscope, which is what I will do here. 

THE ASSAULT AND COLLECTIVE COVERUP 

The morning of November 23 2018 was no different than any other morning I’ve experienced at the Ellis unit. Just before 3:00 a.m. we were ushered to breakfast in droves of 25 men (despite it being a 20-man rule). I normally sleep in for breakfast but this particular morning the meal was biscuits, eggs, fruit and cereal. I planned to smuggle the fruit and cereal back for the mother raccoon that often snuck into our cell block through the broken window, in search of food for her three babies. Had I known what would take place, I would’ve slept in that morning too. 

As we stood in the chow hall line waiting to be served our meal, a small level of tension could be felt in the air. The three white guards assigned to kitchen duty (Pollock, Anthony R Granville, and an unknown one) were grouped together, constantly scanning over black prisoners, in particular, before whispering to one another. The only black guard assigned kitchen duty, Sylvester Glaze Jr., had obviously distanced himself to the far end of the chow hall, as if he anticipated something happening he wanted no part in. 

A prisoner by the name Jeremy Lowery was singled out by Pollock and harassed as he sat down to eat. Few words were exchanged, but the entire time Lowery silently ate his meal, Pollock stood behind him mumbling what he’d do as he played with his handcuffs. 

I hollered from my table that if Lowery was assaulted by any guards I would publish an exposé on the matter. Pollock chided to Granville that I was the “newspaper nigger” as he disarmed himself of items in preparation for a scuffle. 

Witnesses: Curtis Lindsey and Alvin Simms both agreed that we should wait until Lowery was done eating at his table so he wouldn’t have to walk down the camera-less main hallway alone. This hallway in fact, is where all staff routinely lure prisoners they want to assault or bait into getting hostile. Reflexively, the prisoner is written a bogus disciplinary case for assaulting staff, thus justifying whatever beatdown the prisoner received. No camera and plenty of false staff witness reports leaves the victim no room to prove what really happened. 

As Lowery got up to leave, Pollock strolled behind him and into the hallway. Just as I tried to step out of the chow hall door, Pollock looked back, elbowed me, then slammed the door hitting me with it. When I asked Pollock why he hit me with the door, he gave me an evil grin then said “no good deed goes unpunished” before grabbing me, punching me in the face and stomach, then trying to body slam me on the ground so his responding cronies could have at me too. 

The few prisoners in the hallway were ordered to face the wall, a TDCJ-wide protocol that limits potential witnesses from seeing any egregious policy violations during a use of force. Consequently, Simms, Lowery and Lindsey were only able to state what they saw until they were made to face the wall. Which was me being hit by the door and grabbed by Pollock.

Another racist white guard named Zachary H Williford followed suit with Pollock, throwing several punches at my head before stepping back and giving Pollock his rite of passage opportunity to take me alone. A handful of guards arrived, I was struck in the back of the head with something and I fell to the ground to be kicked. 

In disciplinary report # 20190075590 Pollock falsely stated “at the time and date listed above I officer Pollock was egressing chow. I told offender Walker to hold on at the door. The offender then became adjitated (sic) and stepped in my face. I told the offender to back up, said offender then threw his hands up in an aggressive manor(sic) which caused me to place said offender on the ground. Said offender came at me with clenched fists, I then took hold of the offender by his shirt still being struck in the left eye. additional staff then arrived and we assisted him on the ground.” (1)

In this report, which served as the basis for me receiving a major disciplinary infraction and placement in lockup, Pollock not only lied. He omitted hitting me with the door, assaulting me with his fists and the assault I suffered while a mob of guards pinned me to the ground. 

A few hours after falsely charging me with assaulting him, an unprepared Pollock was asked to write an additional report concerning the use of force, participants involved and his injuries. It is obvious he was allowed to read every statement his cronies and nurses wrote so that he could write a matching piece. It was also obvious no one thought twice about reading the disciplinary report he’d just filed, or they’d see both statements were contradicting. Not that it mattered. 

In use of force report # M- 08808- 11- 18 Pollock changed his story to match the lies told by other guards that didn’t see anything, but who all obviously conspired to push the narrative. As he suggests: 

“when the offender got up to leave(Lowery), I followed and pulled the offender to the side . Once in the hallway I attempted to close the chow hall door, at no time did I curse at the offender or instigate a confrontation. When closing the chow hall door I did not realize offender Walker Jason 1532092 was following so closely behind me which resulted in him being struck by the door. The offender then became irate stepping in my face stating ‘bitch ass white boy I’m going to whoop your ass’…” (2) 

Pollock then explained that I punched him in the left cheek, resulting in it being bruised and swollen. And since I wouldn’t stop swinging at him he punched me multiple times in the face and stomach in self defense, until additional staff arrived and ‘assisted’ me to the ground. 

Pollock changing his story from being hit in the eye, to being hit in the cheek, was done to match injuries the nurse had already drawn out in documents after he’d already filed his disciplinary report and had pictures of his face taken, as evidence that he didn’t have any injuries. 

Such falsification of reports by staff are so common to the extent that any contradicting details aren’t bothered with, under the assumption that the prisoner doesn’t have the knowledge or resources to ever get a hold of them. The entire focus is getting the bogus charge filed and letting the grievance department and bureaucratic checks and balances protect the state official, while the prisoner languishes in segregation, is charged criminally, or placed in close custody 23 hours a day double man confinement. 

In his own witness statement Williford furnished the following lies: “It appeared as if offender Walker was going to strike officer Pollock. In an attempt to defend himself officer Pollock placed his arms around the offender Walker’s upper torso… At no time did I witness any officer strike offender Walker.” (3) 

Medical staffer LVN Misty Williams, for unknown reasons, falsely documented that she screened Pollock for injuries and noted that he had a 2cm superficial scratch on his forehead and bruise to his upper left cheek, which was a proximate result from being punched and assaulted. In documents associated with the incident, Williams uses a pen to place marks on the anatomy of a drawn human, detailing exactly where Pollock’s injuries were supposed to have been. (4) The unit risk management coordinator Candace and Captain Candy Montgomery both falsely signed this document as witnesses to the injuries noted. 

Evidence of such false documenting by Williams can be observed on a fake medical screening given to officer Mokwe Nnamdi. In one report she notes Nnamdi has an injury to his forehead and uses the drawn anatomy to mark where, which he agrees with and signs. But couldn’t get the required other two to bear false witness. After being confronted by a supervisor she drew up another report documenting he had no injuries, which the two then signed. (5) 

LVN Christy Avila pulled a similar stunt on me when assessing my injuries. A complaint I made about having what seemed like a broken left pinky finger (that Pollock hyper extended) was falsified as me having an injury to my right pinky finger (another lie). One that Lieutenant Sonya Nesby claimed occurred from me punching Pollock with my right hand. Which he lied, as to the hand being used, since the average person is right-handed. (6) 

I was never medically assessed by Avila concerning my finger, as I was handcuffed when I was taken to medical 6 hours later. I was simply questioned and sent back to my cell. The only observation of my hand made was immediately following the attack and while I was in a pitch black cell with no light. 

Photos taken, supposedly of my injuries, clearly show the front of a cell door, but I can’t be seen at all because of the lack of in-cell light. Yet a lucky close-up photo shows me presenting my left pinky finger to the photographer to be taken as evidence. (7) 

Close to a week later I was seen by medical, where photos of the front and back of me were taken, but not of either hand. Though an x ray exam was scheduled, guards refused to take me, as every subsequent medical appointment made had been denied and falsely documented as if I had gone and said I was fine, was willingly refusing to go, or sign the refusal. Or that security didn’t have escorts available to take me. (8) An x-ray of my hand was never made. 

PHOTOGRAPHIC TRUTH 

Leading up to me bringing suit on the multi staff conspiracy, a number of things happened: The bogus disciplinary Pollock wrote was overturned on appeal and the case ultimately dismissed, most of the staff involved either quit for personal reasons, or resigned pending a criminal investigation. Pollock was hired as a police officer for the Crockett police department and Williford landed a job as a detective for the San Jacinto law enforcement agency. 

In a federal civil suit I filed: Walker v. Pollock, et al 4:19- CV -4829. I sued Pollock, warden Lacox and several others for a number of civil rights violations. It took nearly four years, over $3,000, failed attempts by a hired process server, filing motions and the court compelling US Marshals’ intervention, before Pollock and Lacox could be cornered and served notice of the suit. Williford managed to elude the process servers until the courts dismissed him from the suit for failure to prosecute. 

In order to flesh out the truth and add context to the suit, the courts compelled the defendants to produce a ream of external TDCJ documents and medical records, including the lost photos of Pollock’s scratched and bruised face. The absence of the photos as evidence in the disciplinary hearing, was partially why the case was overturned. After a year of the defendants evading the production request, some of the relevant photos and documents were eventually sent to me. 

In high gloss, clear and brilliantly colored photos, a baseball cap clad, closed eyed, smooth faced, unscratched and unbruised Pollock holds his TDCJ employee ID next to the left side of his face. The very place that documents and witness statements contest was scratched and battered from me assaulting him. 

From looking at the photo, any person with a lick of sense will recognize that Pollock doesn’t have any bruises or injuries on his face. The most hilarious part about the audacity of the photos is how Pollock intentionally has his hat on and pulled down, so the absence of the scratch to his forehead isn’t exposed, but left open to debate. (9) 

Readers wondering why staff would bother taking the photos anyways, let me explain. It’s not about what’s on the photos, but that the photos were taken. The photographer and all observers are well aware that he wasn’t assaulted. Due to the fact that this claim has been documented, it’s protocol that photos are taken and witness statements made, in order to satisfy TDCJ use of force procedures.

Due to the high volume of use of force reports filed throughout TDCJ, the bureaucratic chain of command these documents go through can’t always be read entirely, or viewed. If standard care was applied to each investigation, many others wouldn’t be handled before the deadline to do so arrived, causing a paperwork jam. And eventually drawing the attention of the U.S. Department Of Justice (DOJ), or worse. 

In most cases, each subsequent reviewer is only looking for signatures and rubber-stamped certifications that a thorough investigation was done. Wardens and administrative staff bank on the integrity they are given in this capacity, when submitting contradicting facts or closing investigations, favorable to staff, at the unit level. This can explain why the warden, as the initial fact finder in grievances and disciplinary appeals, rarely rule in favor of the prisoner, even when policy demands he do. 

In the event, the warden breaks his own policy and falsely documents procedures were followed and the prisoner’s appeal is unwarranted. Which is very common. (10) This can have a ripple effect, in which reviewers at higher levels may take the warden’s word without reading the grounds raised by the prisoner, since doing so may cause them to fall behind in keeping up with an already backlogged caseload. 

Even though wardens routinely falsify prisoners’ disciplinary appeals and grievances, there is no rule or law in place to deter them from engaging in this practice, over and over again. 

In order to keep other agencies out of their business, TDCJ and its subsidiaries have to opportunistically collude with one another, at the expense of a prisoner’s wellbeing and freedom. And in the name of making the prison system look like it’s adequately functioning, from top to bottom. 

So readers, please don’t assume the Ellis unit administration’s attempt to cover up my assault and frame me as the perpetrator is unique. This is common practice, business as usual. What’s unique is that I held my ground for over four years and was fortunate to have outside supporters use their resources and finances to help me along the way in exposing this. An advantage most prisoners don’t have. 

PRACTICE VS POLICY 

As smart as Pollock may or may not be, common sense says that he didn’t decide to assault me on a whim and willfully file a false report to conceal his wrong, without some sort of supervisory influence or intervention. Common sense also says that each staff participant involved didn’t decide to just conveniently put their integrity to the side and make up statements because it’s in their nature. The nurses didn’t assist, just to assist, either. 

What happened on the morning of November 23 2018 was a product of men and women being trained and groomed by their superiors to help one another. The “heroes against criminals” brainwash game. A collective attempt to show they can do whatever they want to do because they have been trusted to not do wrong and there is nothing you can do about it because prisoners are expected to lie and attack innocent people. 

Just as prisoners arrive at a unit and begin forming tribes, gangs and factions, so too does staff.

You have your cell extraction teams that only recruit their brethren under the notion that they say and do whatever needs to be said or done to protect the integrity, safety and job security of each member. Which often includes beating unprotected prisoners to death as a means to set the tone and planting weapons in certain cells to justify why deadly force was administered. 

From looking at the many witness statements made by staff observers and participants who attacked me, you can see that each one copied a pre-written template that used specific wording. Though each staffer arrived at different times, each had the fortune to see everything, including the order in which each participant responded and the amount of force each used. 

During the disciplinary hearing Pollock stated that following the assault: medical staff observed his injuries, gave him pain medication and staff took pictures, available for viewing, that prove he was assaulted. He also mentioned that I threatened to harm him and raised my fist at him, but was still given several opportunities to simply go back to the cellblock, so he could fulfill his duty of counseling Lowery. 

If just one policy had been followed that morning the elements in this essay would not even exist. And more than likely, Lowery wouldn’t have ever been harassed by Pollock. But running afoul of such rules by young racist hotheads like him, forms the basis for their manly posturing. 

By reading his use of force statement attached to this essay, you learn Pollock claimed his purpose of following a complying and leaving Lowery into the camera-less hallway, was to counsel him on the chow hall rules. According to policy Pollock wasn’t supposed to have left his duty post. But for some odd reason he mentions that “I did pull out my hand restraints in case they were needed, and I did open them fully one time to be prepared.” Prepared for What? 

This clarifies that his end game wasn’t to counsel anyone. Cuffs are normally used by staff as brass knuckles. And during ‘counseling’ the chow hall door is closed to shield other prisoners from seeing what happened, or from attempting to deescalate the problem. 

Pollock’s statements alone prove someone, somewhere, taught him that I wouldn’t be given the right to inspect and introduce the photo as evidence, nor would the disciplinary hearing officer or counsel sub (my kangaroo court attorney) advise me that the photo proved he and many others lied about him having injuries. Or else he wouldn’t have been so happy to lie about what was really on the photo. 

Before newbies are allowed to work regular duty, they are vetted on how to falsify statements, why it’s important that they sometimes do so, and the consequences if they help prisoners, or allow them to weasel out of punishment. 

I’ve witnessed first-hand, senior officers explaining to newbies what to say and not say in disciplinary reports and use of force statements, so that the prisoner is found guilty and unable to successfully appeal bogus charges. “you always gotta say minimum force was used no matter how bad you fuck’em up” a supervisor told a new member on a Clements unit cell extraction team, who detailed exactly what force he used on a prisoner that had to get staples in his head. “What you say matters more than how they look.” The supervisor concluded, giving the newbie a fresh sheet of paper to rewrite his statement on. 

Pollock learned the rules of being a corrupt guard, he took his show on the road to a small town with a population not much bigger than a Texas prison and probably just as racist. Here, we can expect that his penchant for harassing and assaulting people of color will only be amplified since he has learned how to practice getting away with abuse by citing policies that shield abusers like magic words. 

Jason Renard Walker 1532092 

Powledge unit 

PO Box 660400 

Dallas, Tx 75266 

1) page Ex.A- 0949 ( Pollocks offense report) 

2) page Def initial disclosure 881-2(use of force report A1-08808-11-1) 

3) page Def initial disclosure 897-898 (Zachary Williford statement) 

4) page Def initial disclosure 917-918 (injury report) 

5) page Ex.A 74-75 and Def initial disclosure 913-914 (injury reports) 

6) page Def initial disclosure 851-852 (Sonya Nesby report) 

7) Page Walker 1354 and 1355 (photos of hand and cell door) 

8) See medical records pages A,B,C,D,E 

9) page Walker 1350 (photo of Pollock) 

10) Def initial disclosure 396 (denied appeal) and Ex.F 036 (overturned case)