Three York County Prison corrections officers have been charged with official oppression and suspended from work after allegedly arranging fights between two inmates, and in some cases between the inmates and guards, in exchange for coffee and food.
David Michael Whitcomb, 28, of Hellam Township; Mark Andrew Haynes, 26, of Jacobus; and Daniel H. Graff, 37, of York, were charged after a state police investigation into the allegations, discovered when prison officials were conducting an unrelated investigation into acts of minor vandalism.
The fights, and other stunts, were part of what one of the inmates described as the "Retard Olympics," in which the officers asked the inmates to do "stupid stuff for coffee and food," state police reported Friday.
All three officers have been on unpaid administrative leave while the investigation was conducted, the prison said in a news release. Warden Mary Sabol declined to elaborate on the charges.
Graff said the abuse "never happened" and described the inmate's allegations as "a get-rich-quick scheme."
"They've been telling other inmates that they're going to sue the York County Prison for millions of dollars," Graff said. "Personally, I think this is what this is."
Whitcomb said, "This is crazy."
He called the allegations "complete fabrications."
"I did not participate in any of it, and I did not witness any of this," he said. "There is no physical evidence, no medical records. They didn't file any complaints when it was supposed to have happened. This is all on the word of an inmate. It blows my mind."
The abuse was alleged to have occurred between Jan. 31 and July 1. Graff said he and two other guards were suspended just more than three months ago.
According to state police, the investigation began when officials investigating graffiti in the prison's south block saw on video Haynes grab inmate David Michael Wright, 27, of Red Lion, from the back and grab the inmate around the neck.
Wright, in a written statement given to prison officials, wrote that Haynes, Whitcomb and Graff arranged for him to wrestle another inmate named James Williams Hicks Jr., 27, of Dover, in a closet near the guard booth. Wright said they had rules - no punching in the face, and whoever got his opponent "to tap out" would get extra food and coffee.
Wright wrote that he won the match, and because of that, Hicks' work duties were reassigned, police reported.
Wright also wrestled Graff in the storage closet, reporting that the officer "cut off my air supply so I dropped him on the ground and he said enough enough," police reported.
Wright wrote that Whitcomb offered him food if he would allow the officer to punch him in the leg and give him "a dead leg," according to police. He also reported that Haynes offered him food if he could take a punch in the arm without falling.
Wright reported he allowed the officer to punch him but did not receive any food. He also said Graff offered him extra coffee if he allowed him to spray pepper foam in his face. He did, he reported, and later did not receive any coffee.
Hicks reported that among the stunts he was asked to perform for food and coffee were drinking a gallon of milk in an hour, eating a spoonful of cinnamon, snorting spicy vegetable Ramen Noodle powder and crushed candy, drinking a bottle of water with pepper foam sprayed in it and eating fruit with the peels intact.
He reported that he received food and coffee after performing the stunts.
Later, he reported, the "challenges," as they were called, became physical, and he had to wrestle Graff and Whitcomb and allow them to punch his arms and legs until they became numb.
Once, Hicks reported, Whitcomb "choked him out."
He told investigators "it was all consensual," police reported.
Graff and Whitcomb, interviewed Friday, said they had "developed a rapport" with Wright and Hicks and would offer them extra food when they performed tasks around the cell block, such as help mop floors or other duties. The two had been "problem" inmates in the past.
"They had continuous problems with other inmates and the staff," Whitcomb said. "They have been proven to be habitual liars in the past. ...These aren't typical inmates."
Graff and Whitcomb said their union, Local 776 of the Teamsters, had filed a grievance objecting to their suspensions and had scheduled a hearing for Friday morning. The union had objected that the officers had been suspended for three months without any resolution of the allegations. The hearing was canceled when the criminal charge was filed.Those charges had not been signed by a district judge Friday.
"The worst part of this is our names are being dragged through the mud for no reason," Whitcomb said.
Wright, whose court record goes back to 2004, had been in jail on escape charges and other offenses, including theft, possession of drug paraphernalia and making false reports to authorities.
Hicks, whose record dates to 2006, had been sentenced in April to 11 months to 23 months in prison on child pornography charges transferred to York County from Juniata County. His record also includes charges of theft, corruption of minors and burglary.
York County Commissioner Doug Hoke, president of the prison board, said he received a call from the warden several months ago about some questions she thought needed to be investigated.
He told her to do it right away. An internal investigation was done and turned over to the state police. He said officials now will wait to see the outcome of the legal proceedings.
"I'm satisfied it was handled correctly," Hoke said.
'Misconduct...is not tolerated'
In a news release issued Friday, the York County Prison stated: "Each day, hundreds of corrections officers work diligently to maintain the security of the prison and ensure the safety and well-being of inmates and fellow corrections officers. The actions alleged by Pennsylvania State Police in this case run counter to the professional behavior county and prison management expect and require of all staff. Misconduct within any county agency is not tolerated."
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