Corrections officer claims harassment

A former Vermont corrections officer is suing the state after he was punched on the groin by an inmate and then allegedly harassed by DOC employees.

http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20110628/NEWS03/706289878

Published June 28, 2011 in the Rutland Herald

Corrections officer claims harassment

By Thatcher Moats

MONTPELIER — A former Vermont corrections officer is suing the state after he was punched in the groin by an inmate and then allegedly harassed by his supervisors, co-workers and inmates as his health problems persisted, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Burlington.

Michael Davis, a Saxtons River resident, filed the lawsuit last Thursday against the Vermont Department of Corrections and seeks compensation for emotional distress and lost wages, along with punitive damages and attorneys’ fees.

Davis became a guard at the Southern State Correctional Facility in Springfield starting in 2005, according to the court papers filed in the case. In 2007, an inmate punched him in the groin.

A year later, Davis was still feeling pain in his “groin/testicles,” court records show, and he was prescribed antibiotics and left work for two weeks.

When he returned to work, still in pain, he found the beginning of what the lawsuit contends would become a pattern of harassment by other state Corrections Department employees.

First, there was paperwork in his work mailbox concerning sexually transmitted diseases, which Davis “understood to be a reference to the pain in his groin.”

Then, in January 2009, Davis’ supervisor, James Seavey, allegedly emailed Davis a picture of a nude, male doll holding his groin.

The email read: “You should print out the attachment and post in your home for future reference just in case another unfortunate occurrence should take place.”

The caption that went with the image read: “If you experience sudden and severe pain, go to your doctor. GO TO YOUR DOCTOR NOW AND DON’T MESS ABOUT.”

The picture and message were sent to Davis, along with another supervisor and another employee within the Department of Corrections.

Seavey and another shift supervisor then allegedly conspired to create another email.

“Using the guise of official business, Seavey took a digital photograph of Davis, and then superimposed a photograph from the Internet, which showed a man sitting, with his testicle hanging out of the side of his shorts,” the lawsuit states.

The photo had a caption in which Davis was supposedly thanking a corrections supervisor for the time he was allowed to take off from work. The email that contained the photo was sent with the message: “Way to milk it buddy.”

Davis attempted to laugh it off, the lawsuit says, but the emails were circulated to other employees and hung up in the mail room where other employees and inmates could see them. Shortly after, Davis had hernia surgery and was out for more than four weeks.

Davis complained about the emails to his union representative and also sought “medical care, in part due to the emotional distress of his supervisor’s harassment.”

The Department of Corrections investigated the emails, though what the investigation concluded was not clear from the lawsuit.

After the department finished its probe, Davis received a note in his mail box that said: “How’s your nuts kill yourself your (sic) done.”

Davis reported the note to the department, which “admits it did not do any investigation,” according to court papers.

Davis received another email from a different corrections officer that contained a cartoon drawing with a figure that had a gun to its head and showed blood. A caption that said “Kill Yourself” went with the picture, the lawsuit says.

Inmates also made fun of Davis and said they would tell him who was talking about his health problems if Davis gave them money.

Davis was later injured during a training exercise and was out on workers compensation for over a year, records show. He eventually took a job with the state Agency of Transportation, the lawsuit says, which resulted in a pay cut.

Davis argues in the lawsuit the harassment violated the Civil Rights Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act.

Seavey could not be reached for comment, nor could Department of Corrections Commissioner Andy Pallito.

Davis is represented by a New York-based firm that specializes in workplace harassment, but Davis’ local counsel did not respond to a voice mail.

The assistant attorney general representing the state in the case was not available for an interview.