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Boot Camp To Close After Beating
Death
POSTED: 2:50 pm EST February 22, 2006
UPDATED: 4:53 pm EST February 22, 2006
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The boot camp where relatives
said a teen was fatally beaten by sheriff's deputies last month is
shutting its doors.
The Bay County sheriff notified the state
Department of Juvenile Justice Tuesday that the program would close in
90 days, WESH 2 News reported.
The announcement came just as the second mother in
as many days came forward to allege massive problems with the system.
Shauna Manning's son was at the Bay County boot
camp at the same time as Anderson, the boy who died hours after being
roughed up by sheriff's deputies. She said she had to come forward when
her traumatized teen told her he had seen the whole thing.
"Because I feel bad for this lady and every other
child and every other parent of kids that are there that don't deserve
this kind of treatment," Manning said. "It's terrible. No 14-year-old
child deserves what her child went through."
Manning said her son told her that sheriff's
deputies appeared to target Martin Anderson from the moment he entered
the boot camp program because they did not like the dreadlocks in his
hair.
"If you see the videotape of that lifeless boy and
nine grown men jerking him up around and throwing him in the dirt,
that's why I'm here," Manning said. "I'm here to speak out on behalf of
her and her child."
The Bay County Sheriff's Office will cease running
the boot camp in late May. It is up to the Florida Department of
Juvenile Justice whether or not to find another agency to run it.
Anderson's family released a statement Tuesday
afternoon expressing disappointment that the sheriff is still not taking
responsibility for the actions of his deputies.
In a letter to the state Department of Juvenile
Justice, the sheriff said the integrity of the program has been
compromised and its effectiveness virtually paralyzed.
The Bay County medical examiner is also coming
under increasing scrutiny.
Manning said medical staff at the boot camp ignored
her son's health concerns until after Anderson died. Then, her son was
transferred to another facility.
On Monday, another mother alleged the same medical
examiner who blamed Anderson's death on a genetic disorder botched the
autopsies of her husband and daughter.
Records show Dr. Charles Siebert's medical license
expired last month.
Anderson's parents' attorney, Benjamin Crump, said
it is just more evidence of incompetence at best.
Copyright 2006 by
WESH.COM. All rights
reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed
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