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WMBB 13 News
Dozier School Halts Admission
April 18, 2007
Mark Jenkins Anchor/Reporter
 "He
stepped back and he slapped my son," Mark Caldwell said about the
staff member who struck his son at the Arthur G. Dosier School for
Boys.
"My son had 2 staples from a
previous incident. Then he (the staff member) took his fist and he
punched my son in the forehead. He grabbed my son, threw him on the
floor. The staff member was on my son and was banging his head
against the tile floor," Caldwell said.
The staff member then went to the
Jackson County Sheriff's Office and claimed Justin was the
instigator; and pressed charges for battery.
Justin Caldwell was then
transferred to the Jackson County Jail.
However, he did not leave the
Dozier School without being confronted by another staff member.
The man, identified as Alvin
Speights, approached Caldwell hours later.
"Speights lunged for my son his
hand hits his neck hard. He takes his right leg and kicks my sons
feet all the way out from him. He gets on top of him and bangs his
head onto the floor a solid concrete floor," Mark Caldwell said.
Justin was left technically
unconscious, and the whole thing was caught on camera.
The Florida Department of Law
Enforcement has not yet released the surveillance video; but Officer
Speights has been released from his job.
Former Regional Service
Administrator, John Tallon was also fired.
Department of Juvenile Justice
Secretary of Residential Services, Rex Uberman, is moving his office
to the School for Boys in hopes of making a change.
"We do have a range of operational
problems at Dozier and the whole program needs to go through a
rebirth, but you also can't lose sight of holding individual people
accountable for their actions," Uberman said.
According to our media partners,
the Jackson County Floridan, there are currently 162 beds
(offenders) at the school.
Uberman is preventing any new
offenders from being brought in until he's satisfied that they have
appropriate program safeguards in place and under appropriate
supervision.
Caldwell expects there to be more
firings in the near future and plans to keep a close eye on the
process.
As for Justin, he want to be
released only to come back one day as an employee to ensure the
"inmates" are safe.
The Florida Department of Law
Enforcement and the Department of Juvenile Justice are reviewing the
case.
Our media partners, the Jackson
County Floridan, report that the DJJ also wants to bring in an
advisory board to ensure the proper treatment for the boys in the
facility.
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