Within the past year, prison guards are turning up the way they retaliate for my published exposés and activism. From false charges to legal property theft and now physically unprovoked beatings. Most recently, on Nov. 23, 2018, around 3:10 a.m., I was snatched out of the chow hall by known racist officer Brandon K. Pollock, who attempted to wrestle me to the ground so he and officer Zachary H. Williford, another known racist, could beat me to a bloody pulp.

Pollock was unable to overpower me, so Williford ran up to me and began punching me in the face and head, along with Pollock, as Uncle Tom guard Sylvester Glaze Jr. and other Black guards gathered – the same way a litter of cubs observe their mother attack prey. They too jumped in and got a few licks before the “use of force” was called in, as Glaze watched the entire event.

As the portable camera rolled, sly attempts were made to gouge my eyes, crush my spine, break my left hand and choke me out by applying full weight on the left side of my back and throat. My effort to breathe was used as an excuse, saying that I wouldn’t stop resisting, so more guards applied suffocating pressure as Pollock attempted to break my left pinky finger, bending it all the way back.

Within the past year, prison guards are turning up the way they retaliate for my published exposés and activism. From false charges to legal property theft and now physically unprovoked beatings.

I was denied medical care, thrown in lock-up, and all my electronics, food, appliances, legal books, mail and correspondence material vanished in thin air. Property Officer Kimberly L. Hatthorn brought a few hygiene items on Nov. 29, 2018, then claimed that was everything in my possession, besides two bags of meaningless legal documents given to me by another officer a few hours after I was locked up.

I’m on the top tier, where the heat through the vent makes it extremely hot, but no efforts are being taken to locate my fan to help regulate the temperatures. My PTSD medication has an adverse effect too.

As I explained in a previous piece, “The Anatomy of Abusive Prison Guards,” to justify physical contact, Pollock wrote a false disciplinary report stating that I hit him in the left eye in the chow hall door. A Black prisoner who lives on C6 block but worked back here claims to know all about Pollock and heard guards talking about his actions being premeditated and calculated. “Everybody talking about it,” he said.

Another prisoner who doesn’t know me wrote an affidavit certifying that he heard Pollock fishing for someone to bear false witness, and that Pollock and Williford tried to knock out my teeth and break my jaw. [See below the affidavit of Juarez Fidencio, along with related affidavits by Caterrion Backus and Melvin Clark.] Pollock has no injuries, nor do photos exist showing any marks to his left eye.

Prisoner Lindsay, who I don’t know, who lives on B4 cell block, I-10 cell, submitted a statement to the counsel substitute, McMillian, giving an account consistent to mine and Prisoner Garcia’s, who is another witness, about what really happened. Of course, when Glaze was called as my witness on Nov. 30, 2018, he perjured himself, giving a robotic response, “I was in the kitchen. I didn’t see anything.” When asked if he saw the use of force – the beating – in the hallway, he responded, “I was in the kitchen.”

Contrary to this lie, the camera for that day was reviewed by Capt. Hill, the hearing officer, and McMillian. On camera, Glaze can be seen watching me leave the chow hall, then leaving out himself a matter of seconds later; but on tape he claimed to have never left the chow hall. Ironically, Hill claims the chow hall cameras can’t see the entrance or exit doors, nor does the hallway, where prisoners are routinely assaulted, have cameras. On top of this, Glaze’s lie isn’t being used as evidence, or even analyzed.

It’s absurd to believe that a guard who has over 10 years of experience could fail to see me get assaulted by another guard, not even 30 feet away from the exit door where he stood; not recognize or hear a use of force being called in over the radio; not realize that he was the only officer in the kitchen to not respond; and fail to see and hear other officers scampering to respond. The camera says different.

This only validates the truth of what he said at a time when he pulled me to the side and personally told me that I was a target and to stay out of the way because he’s witnessed white officers mess over Black prisoners, then successfully cover it up. Prisoners like me in particular, he said. The disciplinary hearing was postponed until Pollock could be located to seal the deal.

What can you do to help?

First and foremost, this is an active criminal charge that I will litigate in the future. The same standards that the courts hold officials to aren’t required in disciplinary hearings.

I’m in need of legal assistance, in the form of an investigation into Glaze, Williford, Pollock and their supervisors’ role in assaults, and playing blind to assaults, e.g. a polygraph test for me and them, as well as gaining a copy of the kitchen surveillance camera for Nov. 23, 2018, between 2:30 a.m. and 3:50 a.m. to expose that Glaze witnessed the incident but claimed to not have known that the beating occurred. These acts are pure retaliation.

Also, I need a copy of the “I-210 offense report” and an interview of the witnesses whose names have been admitted as evidence in my hearing and can be retrieved. The camera footage is only available for a certain amount of time, and is the only evidence that proves Glaze is covering up my assault and his knowledge of it. Please help! My life counts on it!