INMATE ABUSE COVERED UP, EX-GUARD SAYS IN LAWSUIT

A former prison guard said an incident in which an inmate was abused
at an Austin correctional facility was covered up by a private
management company under contract to the state -- the same facility
already under fire for an ongoing sex scandal, according to a federal
lawsuit.

Demetrius Redmond, who was a correctional sergeant for Wackenhut
Corrections Corp., said in the lawsuit filed last week that he was
fired from his job when he ordered another employee to continue
videotaping a situation involving a "major use of force" against an
inmate.

Redmond's allegations could become part of a wide-ranging probe by the
Travis County District Attorney's office, which is also investigating
allegations that guards had sex with female inmates.

Houston attorney William Pendergraft said he was to be interviewed
Monday afternoon by an assistant Travis County district attorney about
his client's allegations of brutality.

"We didn't realize when we got into this how broad it would become,"
Pendergraft said.

Redmond worked at the Travis County Community Justice Center in Austin
from July 7, 1997, to July 27, 1998, during the time it was managed
solely by Wackenhut Corrections Corp.

According to the lawsuit, Redmond witnessed a Dec. 3, 1997, incident
in which a supervisory captain ordered a video tape officer to stop
taping an abusive incident involving an inmate.

Redmond said he countermanded the order because Texas Department of
Corrections policy requires that all uses of force be videotaped.

However, the supervisor reacted by removing the tape from the camera
and rewinding it.

Redmond said he filed a written report of the incident and was later
placed on administrative leave, then fired less than three weeks later.

A spokesman for Wackenhut did not return a call for
comment.

The Travis County Community Justice Center, operated by Wackenhut
Corrections Corp., has been the focus of a criminal investigation into
allegations that guards had sex with some of the 106 female inmates
and whether evidence of illicit activity was covered up.

Investigators also say they have subpoenaed state jail records for the
past two years, looking for evidence of assaults, retaliation,
contraband, attempts to silence witnesses and the response of jail
managers to any problems

Earlier this month TDC announced that it would take over the facility
by the beginning of next year and will be on site in a monitoring
capacity until the transition takes place.

Pendergraft, said Redmond's lawsuit is one of a number of civil
complaints filed against the Florida-based private prison contractor.

Wackenhut operates 11 prisons in Texas.