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Jan-08-2014 01:31printcommentsVideo

Oregon State Police Reluctant to Investigate Prison Racism Case

A Nazi movie played to please a prison's white supremacist population, drug dealing by guards, Murder, Attempted Murder; yet a former guard's documented exposure of crimes in the Oregon State Prison gains little merit with the state police?

Carlos Barrientos
Carlos Barrientos photo courtesy: ospoa.com Trooper News

(SALEM) - A former Oregon prison guard who turned Whistleblower, William Coleman says that on May 2, 2007, inmate Terrence Kimble's civil rights were violated at the Oregon State Penitentiary by state officials.

Former prison guard William Coleman

It is a case that begins with an arrest without evidence for a crime Kimble could not have physically committed. He was accused of raping a girl who, doctors discovered, was still intact and had never engaged in a sex act. A prosecutor changed the charge from "Rape" to "Sex Abuse" and Kimble received a 19-year sentence.

Former Oregon corrections officer turned Whistleblower, William Coleman, says he survived a nightmarish scenario after trying to expose what he calls, "extreme levels of official corruption, racism and hate crimes," while employed as a guard with the Oregon Dept. of Corrections, at the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem.

Clayton Howard survived stabbing.

Inmate Terrence Kimble - false conviction?

He tells stories that are chilling, about things like Nazi movies being played to please the white supremacist population, drug dealing by a guard whose actions led to an inmate's fatal overdose (Something the state of Oregon tried very hard to pin on Coleman), a stabbing that an inmate told Coleman he was going to commit, that officials refused to take seriously, (The inmate victim, Clayton Howard, survived the stabbing and is now suing the state and taxpayers will pay the bill for an act that Coleman says easily could have been prevented) and far more, like the prison staff's efforts to protect a White corrections officer who wrote racist messages on an inmate's subscription magazine.

Mr. Coleman explains, "Officer Roger Teal had written a hate message in Kimble's subscription magazine. The message was a hate crime. It stated, 'Pretty Fucked up Shit What The Fuck' on an article about the adoption of Black children. On May 2, 2007, Kimble showed me the magazine article and said to it looked like an officer had written in his magazine."

Coleman says that when he asked for more information, Kimble stated, "Officer Teal had written it."

Coleman continued, "Inmate John L. Smith, whose cell was next to Kimble's, asked me to read what the message said. I interpreted the writing to be racially offensive. On May 2, 2007, I told inmate Kimble to show other officers what Officer Teal had written in his magazine. On May 3, 2007, next day, I returned to work. An officer by the last name of Martin, approached me and stated that Kimble was put in the hole (DSU). I figured that inmate Kimble did what I asked of him. I told Kimble to show other officers and inmates the hate message and give the magazine to someone he can trust."

Sgt. Malthaller was William Coleman's supervisor. He says he explained to Malthaller, "...that Kimble was put in the hole for exposing a racist officer who had written a racist statement in his magazine. Sgt. Malthaller asked me if I had proof that this incident took place and asked if I have the magazine."

In conducting his own investigation, Coleman says he discovered that inmate John L. Smith, an Oregon Civil Rights activist from the 1960's, had watched the entire in-house arrest of Inmate Kimble.

"Inmate John Smith told me that inmate Kimble was out of his cell at work. Officer Mcbeth was in Kimble's cell searching for the magazine for about an hour. Inmate Smith notice Mcbeth took a few magazines out of Kimble's cell. Inmate Smith watched Kimble come back to his cell and Smith heard Kimble say to Mcbeth, 'I hope you find what you looking for.'"

The Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem.

He says inmate Kimble was to stand at the end of the tier until the officer was finished, "Inmate Smith watched officers huddle up like a football team. Kimble was put in the fish Bowl (holding cell) then minutes later sent to the hole (DSU). Inmate Smith told me that Officer Teal yelled out to inmates, calling Kimble a 'rapist.'"

Later that night, on May 3, 2007, Coleman left his post in E-Block on his own initiative to see inmate Kimble in the hole. "I needed to know more information about this incident. I entered the building in DSU. Sgt. Hinzman asked me, 'What's up?' I told him I just finished packing up Kimble's cell and I needed to talk to him. I went to Kimble's cell and asked him where the magazine article was. He told me that Adsia Johnson aka "Butter" in A Block has the magazine. I left DSU and went to A Block, where officer Inman opened the door for me and watched inmate Johnson give me the magazine. Later that night, I explained to officer Inman the entire corruption behind the magazine article."

William Coleman attends a Salem NAACP meeting.
Salem-News.com photo by Dexter Phoenix.

William Coleman was off work for the next 2 days, May 4, 5, 2007.

"I returned back to work on the 6th and learned that Captain Watson sent search team to A-Block to search for the magazine and found lots of contraband and blamed the contraband on me, telling other officers and inmates rumors that I was escorted out of the prison by state police. I found out through a state police documented investigation that Captain Watson received two e-mails; one from Sgt. Curt Hinzman and another from Officer Story, that clearly proved that my mission to clean up corruption had taken place."

Terrence Kimble says Captain Tom Watson paid him a visit in DSU the next morning, on May 4, 2007. William Coleman says Watson was upset that he was able to visit inmate Kimble. Kimble says Watson asked if he had a visit from Coleman last night. Kimble says he told Watson that Coleman did drop by for a visit, and that Watson wanted to know where the magazine was.

"Kimble told Watson that he told me that he gave the magazine to Adisa Johnson aka 'Butter' in A-Block and that by now, Officer Coleman may have it," Coleman explained. "Captain Watson got upset and called Kimble a 'Fucking liar'. He said Kimble better hope he finds that magazine... and that if he did not find the magazine, Kimble will be shipped off to 'Cowboy country' - the prison in eastern Oregon." Kimble told me he recalls Watson saying, "You will never walk in population again." (see: Snitch Sheets, Unresolved Murder and Severe Tobacco Crimes)

Another prison photo of Terrence Kimble

Captain Watson later visited Kimble in the transport room and told Kimble he didn't find the magazine.

Weeks later, according to documents, DOC called Oregon State Police (OSP) to investigate an allegation of William Coleman supplying contraband to inmates.

"OSP Detective Ingraham and Withers came to visit me. I gave them names of corrupted officers and managers, enough proven documented facts of very serious ORS violations to keep them busy. I gave them a copy of the magazine article with the hate message written on it. Both detectives promised they would investigate the crimes I reported to them. However years passed, no investigation from the state police took place. On July 1, 2009, I filed a lawsuit against the Oregon State Hospital in an unrelated case. On July 1, 2009, Detective Ingraham filed a secret indictment against me and had me arrested. It is clear that the various state officials conspired to create the allegations."

Taking every step very seriously, Coleman says the magazine incident has been reported through BOLI, DOJ, Saif, Oregon Health Authority, Administrative Services Human, Judge Terri Myzak, Work Compensation Board, ACLU, State Police and many advocacy groups all over the country.

Then he reported the magazine hate crime to DOJ and State Police again in May of 2013.

"I had written a letter to DOJ asking for an investigation about the magazine article. State Police received information from DOJ about me reporting a crime, and a detective named Carlos Barrientos was assigned to the case. I went in to visit the state police office asking for Det. Barrientos who was not present at that time. I sent him e-mails for about a week then he responded finally. We scheduled an appointment to discuss the case."

He says that on or around May 1, 2013, he met with Det. Barrientos and explained to him that he has evidence to prove corruption in the Oregon State Prison.

"I had two evidence booklets, one for Det. Barrientos and one for me. I asked the detective to sit down for about 45 minutes and let me explain the crimes and the Oregon Revised Statutes (ORS) that were violated by state officials. Det. Barrientos refused to look at the evidence booklet with me. I just wanted him to listen and read the documented evidence. Det. Barrientos was very defensive, refusing to listen to the facts. Det. Barrientos had a smile on his face and refused to spend any time with me, going over the evidence. I asked him to sit down and hear what I had to say, instead he refused to let me explain the evidence directly from the evidence book."

This battle has been raging for seven years for Mr. Coleman, and yet the alleged corruption dates well back to before the Murder of Corrections Chief Michael Francke, who was two days away from turning in damning evidence about state officials. His body was found on the porch of the main prison administration building in Salem. A wide range of legal experts and journalists contend that Francke's Murder was an inside job. A petty thief named Frank Gable was convicted for that crime and he is still incarcerated all of these years later.

Salem-News.com photo by Dexter Phoenix

Because of this story and his personal journey, William Coleman is angry, very angry, and he says he has no intention of going away and he wants all officials connected to these crimes to see their own day in court and one day occupy the prison system they oversee.

So it is no wonder that when the Detective Barrientos failed to take Mr. Coleman seriously, this full law enforcement academy graduate who has survived so much already, waiting for his day of justice to arrive, was direct in his assessment of the OSP detective.

"I call him 'corrupted' and 'dirty' and he began to smile more. I wanted to explain the corrupted state officials' crimes that they committed straight from my evidence, gathered by state agencies and myself. Det. Barrientos communicated with Det. Withers who is the detective that help protect the state officials who violated inmate Terrance Kimble's civil rights and who refused to investigate hate crimes I presented to Det. Withers and Sgt. Ingraham in 2007."

He says that by August 2013, months had passed and he emailed Det. Barrientos, asking how the investigation was going.

"He emailed me back stating that he had talked to Kimble and advised Mr. Kimble to file his claim to DOC operations. Det. Barrientos stated that he read my evidence book and found nothing incriminating on behalf of DOC. Det. Barrientos investigated for one week and closed this case in May 2013."

The fact that Terrence Kimble probably wasn't even guilty in the first place, drives the aggravation level for both Kimble and Coleman. I am including a video I produced about the highly questionable conviction of this man in Lane County Court, in Eugene, Oregon.

__________________________________________________________________

Previous articles about Oregon's prisons:

Apr-28-2013: Oregon Whistleblower 2nd Attempt to File Criminal Charges Against Corrections Officials - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jan-30-2013: Oregonian's Sense of 'News Judgement' - Deaf, Dumb and Indifferent to Racism
Jan-09-2013: Michael Francke: Requiem for a Reckoning Intro by Tim King Salem-News.com
Aug-29-2012: Oregon: State of the Pedophile Witness - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jun-11-2012: Aiding a Very Important Oregon Whistleblower - Tim King Salem-News.com
May-04-2012: Dying Prisoner with Hepatitis C Calls Oregon Out for Denying Medical Treatment - Tim King Salem-News.com
Apr-03-2012: White Men Can Dance - Tim King Salem-News.com
Mar-22-2012: Mother's Wish to see Son Exonerated Not Granted Before her Death - Tim King Salem-News.com
Mar-26-2012: Oregon Judge: State 'Stuck their neck out' for Son of DA Who Raped 13-Year Old - Tim King Salem-News.com
Feb-27-2012: Retracted and Redacted- A Comparison of Two Oregon 'Criminals' - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jan-19-2012: Housing Inmates Who Make Death Threats... with their Intended Victims - Tim King Salem-News.com
Dec-19-2011: Does Oregon's Government Simply Hate Black People? - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jul-27-2011: DNA Evidence Should Free Oregon Inmate Terrence Kimble from Prison - Tim King Salem-News.com
May-04-2011 Is There An Oregon Attorney Who Cares About Civil Rights? - Tim King Salem-News.com
May-31-2011: Snitch Sheets, Unresolved Murder and Severe Tobacco Crimes - Tim King Salem-News.com
Mar-10-2011: Reader Commentary: Can Oregon Government Change its Spots? - Salem-News.com
Mar-10-2011: Civil Rights Case in Salem Demonstrates the Power of a 911 Call - Tim King Salem-News.com
Mar-09-2011: Civil Rights Under the Gavel of Justice - Tim King Salem-News.com
Mar-08-2011: Oregon State Hospital and Staff Member Face Racism Charges Over Employee Termination - Tim King Salem-News.com
Mar-04-2011: How Far will Oregon Legal Officials go to Prevent Due Process? - Tim King Salem-News.com
Dec-27-2010: The 'Trickle Down' Effect of Whistleblower Retaliation - Tim King Salem-News.com
Dec-01-2010: Oregon Political Prisoner Being Stripped of Phone Use - Tim King Salem-News.com
Nov-25-2010: Tim King and Ruth Kovacs on KBOO's Prison Pipeline (AUDIO) - Salem-News.com
Nov-22-2010: Tim King on KBOO FM's Prison Pipeline Tonight - Salem-News.com
Nov-16-2010: Federal Mail Tampering at Oregon State Prison? - Tim King Salem-News.com
Oct-29-2010: A Witness With No Credibility - Tim King Salem-News.com
Oct-27-2010: Inmate's Life Threatened by Staff at SRCI - Tim King Salem-News.com
Oct-21-2010: Oregon Inmate Stabbing Victim Attacked Second Time - Tim King Salem-News.com
Sep-10-2010: Demonstrators Call Oregon State Hospital's Employment Practices Racist, Unacceptable - Tim King Salem-News.com
Aug-28-2010: Observations on Michael Francke's Murder, Frank Gable's Conviction, & the paid Confession of 'Shorty' Harden - Salem-News.com
Aug-25-2010: Whistleblower Blues: Man in the Hole - Tim King Salem-News.com
Aug-11-2010: Demonstrators Protest Local Newspaper Over Racism - Tim King Salem-News.com
Aug-05-2010: Evidence Shows Oregon Inmate Was Falsely Convicted - Tim King Salem-News.com
Aug-03-2010: Chicken Night at the Oregon State Penitentiary - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jul-21-2010: Eyes on the Oregon State Prison: Voicing Concern for an Inmate's Life - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jul-14-2010: State Prison Whistleblower Says Oregon Corrections is Blocking Federal Mail - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jul-05-2010: A Denial of Civil Rights- Oregon's Collaboration in Racism Whistleblower Retaliation - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jun-26-2010: Getting Refamiliarized with the Murder of Michael Francke - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jun-23-2010: Local Media Downplayed Former Prison Guard's Struggle Against Racism - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jun-18-2010: Exposé: Skeletons Falling Out of the Closet of Oregon Corrections - Tim King Salem-News.com
Jun-17-2010: Scott McAlister: Child Porn-Related Conviction and Practicing Law - Tim King Salem-News.com




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Anonymous January 9, 2014 9:34 am (Pacific time)

You guys keep your heads in the sand I guess. You actually think the majority of Americans don't know what's going on?  NOTHING WILL BE DONE as long as Obama and Holder are in control.


Anonymous January 8, 2014 5:57 pm (Pacific time)

Maybe the best way is for Mr. Coleman to find a decent civil rights attorney, are there any brave enough to step forward?


Taxed Enough Already January 8, 2014 1:14 pm (Pacific time)

If and when Oregonians realize how this corruption and racism so clearly exposed by this former officer costs them so much in needless taxation, things would change practically overnight.  I am a former corrections officer and I will just say that Mr. Coleman's allegations are spot on and barely the tip of the iceberg.


A Local Attorney January 8, 2014 10:50 am (Pacific time)

They're reluctance is pretty obvious, it is hard to tell cop from criminal in Oregon. This ia a long and ugly story about men in uniform disregarding the law and working to protect their own and to profit from their roles in public society. It angers me to think of this man smirking at Mr. Coleman, but that is OSP and that is par for the course and while there are high integrity people at OSP, most are sold down the river, and I do mean MOST.


Anonymous January 8, 2014 8:29 am (Pacific time)

A most obvious travesty of justice, Mr. Coleman will come out of this as a hero, he already is...

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