We received the following email from a man who’s currently incarcerated. These are serious allegations regarding an incident at Ozark Correctional Center in Fordland, Missouri. To many, this story may sound unbelievable, but we hear stories like this frequently.
This was posted with the individual’s permission. Names were redacted by Missouri Prison Reform.
“Thank you for adding me! I’ve been trying to get in contact with prison reform since i found out about it in december. i would like to say on behalf of all inmates that we appreciate everything this organization does for us because you give us a voice! So i was in Ozark Correctional Center in Ad-Seg on July 13th 2020 and refused the Sentinel Covid19 nose swab at which time Deputy Warden **** ****** gave CO1 ***** ****** a directive to remove me from my cell and shackle my hands and feet to the restraint bench per OCC’s Viral Containment Plan. Deputy Warden ****** then went on to badger me, call me a b***h and belittle me in front of offenders and several staff members, he went as far as to lunge at me with both hands and try to choke me while i was restrained to this metal bench. Several officers grabbed him and restrained him at that time. CO1 ****** and Lieutenant ****** were present at this time. He then gave CO1 ***** ****** a directive to place me in the storage room and i remained there from July 13th 2020-July 19th 2020. I had no toilet, no sink or any running water of any kind. I had to use the bathroom in the floor, scoop it up with a dustpan and hand it out the same chuck hole that i received my meals through. i know federal law states inmates must be housed in a cell with running water. CO1 ******,CO1 *****,CO1 ******, and CO1 ******** are willing to sign sworn affidavits on my behalf and even wrote IOC’s and refused to work adseg during this timeframe. thank you”
