Sheriff Gregory Tony Office of the Sheriff October 19, 2020 ‘qweekes@browarddefender.org Gordon Weekes, Chief Assistant Public Defender Law Office of the Public Defender Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Broward County Courthouse 201 S.E. 6" Street, Suite 3872 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 Re: Stephanie Bretas Dear Mr. Weekes: Please accept this letter in response to your letter dated October 14, 2020, with respect to concems raised about the treatment of Stephanie Bretas while incarcerated in the Broward County Jail and your request for an investigation First, | want you to know that | share your concems with regard to the health and welfare of those who are committed to custody of the Broward Sheriff's Office. All persons committed to the jail are entitled to be treated fairly and to receive appropriate medical and mental health care. It is my expectation that all employees of the Broward Sheriffs Office adhere to these requirements. Second, | want to assure you that the circumstances surrounding Ms. Bretas giving birth in the jail are being fully investigated. Those who are found to have failed in their responsibilities will be held accountable. In that regard, | have relieved both Colonel Gary Palmer and Lt. Colonel Angela Neely from their command at the jail, based upon their failures at the command level. Third, while your letter questions the level of force used on Ms. Bretas, it neglects to mention the circumstances upon which force was needed. Initially, it is important to understand that the use of force occurred on September 9, 2020, approximately two and a half weeks prior to the date she gave birth. The implication in your letter that there may be a correlation between that event, and her giving birth is not supported 2601 West Broward Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33312 + 954.321 ALIS + Fax 954.797.0936Letter — Weekes-Stephanie Bretas Page Two With respect to the need to use force, it was the result of Ms, Bretas’ unprovoked attack on a female detention deputy during medication rounds. Ms. Bretas struck the deputy in the face, and a second deputy came to her assistance. While Ms, Bretas was on the ground, deputies attempted to de- escalate the situation by giving her orders to stop fighting. Ms. Bretas ignored those commands and continued to aggressively resist by attempting to strike the deputies. To gain control of Ms. Bretas' active resistance, OC foam was deployed. The use of OC foam diminishes the need to use additional physical force that might cause injury to an inmate or a deputy. A medical evaluation of Ms. Bretas following the use of OC foam found no signs of injury. Itis important to note that the Broward Sheriff's Office Department of Detention maintains accreditation with the American Correctional Association, the Florida Corrections Accreditation Commission, and the National Commission on ‘Correctional Health Care, and maintains compliance with the Florida Model Jail Standards. The jai’s policies and procedures, including those applicable to use of force, are in compliance with the standards of these organizations, which do not prohibit the use of OC foam on a pregnant mother when necessary to gain control. Furthermore, the jail’s policies and procedures are in full compliance with the Tammy Jackson Healthy Pregnancies for Incarcerated Women's Act. Fourth, your allegation that the jail did not transport Ms. Bretas for evaluation and treatment under the Baker Act is misleading, and the allegation that Ms. Bretas was ‘ignored’ while in custody is false. | am advised that medical Personnel initiated a Baker Act on Ms. Bretas on September 23, 2020, but the receiving facility did not have a bed available at that time. | am further advised that Ms. Bretas was housed in the infirmary at the North Broward Bureau during the entire period of her incarceration, and was seen by the medical provider for medical and mental health care no less than 45 times between September 7" and September 26", not including the numerous instances where she refused services. As noted above, the Broward Sheriff's Office is conducting an internal investigation of the actions of both security and medical personnel on September 27, 2020, and as a result, | am not able to comment further on that matter while the investigation is active. However, itis important to note that Ms. Bretas was with medical personnel during the delivery. Finally, the Public Defender’s Office must also take responsibility for its own failures that contributed to this unfortunate situation. On September 10, 2020, the Assistant Director of Administration for the Department of Detention contacted your office seeking assistance in finding an alternative to incarceration for Ms. Bretas. Approximately two weeks later, on September 24, 2020, three (3) days prior to Ms. Bretas giving birth, your office obtainedLetter - Weekes-Stephanie Bretas Page Three an order to release her under the supervision of the Broward Sheriff's Office Pretrial program. However, in preparing the order, your office included an incorrect case number which caused a delay in her release while a corrected order was secured. The corrected order was received by the jail after Ms. Bretas had already given birth In closing, | would like to reiterate that the Broward Sheriffs Office is conducting a thorough review of this matter, both administratively and through the internal investigation process, and will take those measures that are necessary to address all concerns that are identified, Should any questions or concerns remain, please do not hesitate to contact me so that they may be promptly addressed, Sincerely, Sheriff Greg6ty Tony J Broward County Service Equals Reward cc: Lt, Colonel Josefa Benjamin, Acting Executive Director, Dept. of Detention Major Tim Langelier, Acting Director of Administration, Dept. of Detention Howard Finkelstein, Public Defender Terrence Lynch, General Counsel