Source: San Francisco Chronicle (CA) Contact: http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle/ Pubdate: Tue, 04 Aug 1998 Author: Pamela J. Podger, Chronicle Staff Writer WITNESSES SAY PROBE HINDERED BY GUARDS Corcoran officers wouldn't cooperate Prison investigators testified yesterday that they were blocked in their probe of guard brutality against inmates and a subsequent coverup alleged at a turmoil-rocked San Joaquin Valley prison. Four investigators told state senators that they were hampered by inept management and unclear ground rules for examining allegations of administrative and criminal wrongdoing at Corcoran State Prison. Investigators also said an agreement between the powerful prison guard union and top brass at the Corrections Department thwarted their attempts to compel guards to cooperate. Seventy to 80 percent of the Corcoran guards either refused to comment or expressed ignorance of the alleged misconduct, according to the investigators. ``We took it as far as we could on the paper trail,'' said investigator Ben Eason, his voice cracking with frustration. ``But you reach a point where you need people to be candid with you.'' The testimony came on the fourth day of a special legislative hearing as state senators questioned witnesses about allegations of brutality, excessive force and gladiator-style fights arranged by guards at the Corcoran prison. The remote maximum-security prison lies amid cotton fields and it houses some of California's most notorious convicts, including Charles Manson and Sirhan Sirhan. The hearing, originally planned to last two days, is expected to continue next week. In February, the FBI indicted eight corrections officers, but limited probes done by the Wilson administration and state attorney general's office resulted in no criminal charges. Just last week, however, the California Department of Corrections agreed to review the 36 shootings inside the Corcoran prison's security housing unit, a prison within a prison for the worst offenders. CDC Assistant Director Richard Ehle disclosed yesterday that the shooting review would involve Charles Latting, a former FBI investigator and security adviser for the National Football League, along with retired Oakland Police Chief George Hart and Jack McDonald, a former police chief from Brookings, Ore. In the hearing yesterday, prison investigators testified that broad probes - -- such as an inquiry into an exercise policy that pitted rivals against each other -- were handled by Del Pierce, a troubleshooter known as ``Mr. Fix It'' by Capitol insiders. But Pierce, the lead investigator, blamed former corrections director James Gomez for deciding not to force guards to cooperate in the probe. Gomez left the department in December 1996. ``There was a lot of resistance from me, but his decision is final,'' Pierce said. Investigators Eason, Brian Neely and Brian Parry testified that higher-ups in Sacramento insisted that they could not compel the guards to testify and took away any tools they had to charge the guards with insubordination. Guards appeared at interviews with union representatives, but investigators said they pleaded ignorance or refused to speak on Fifth Amendment grounds. Don Novey, president of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which represents about 27,500 prison employees, said union officials accompanied guards because rumors from Sacramento indicated that all Corcoran staff would be fired and prosecuted. Novey said he wished all the guards had been granted immunity ``so we could get to the bottom of the issues.'' But investigator John Harrison said he did not have a chance to get to the bottom of the matter. Harrison testified that his superiors ordered him to return to his desk job at High Desert State Prison in Susanville just a few months into his task, even though he said there were still many documents and people to investigate. Investigators said they did the best job possible, given their limitations, and flatly disputed claims that they whitewashed the matter for the Wilson administration. ``This certainly was not a whitewash. You've seen our administration paraded through here, and we are incapable of conspiracy,'' Eason said. Harrison said that during his interviews, he heard of only one cover-up by Corcoran staff, which pertained to the alleged rapes of Eddie Dillard, a 120-pound, first-time convict, allegedly committed by 230-pound prisoner Wayne Robertson. Robertson, who is accused of 15 prison rapes, supposedly meted out punishment for the guards by raping or beating problem convicts. Even prison critics said the investigator's candid remarks pointed to the difficulty of getting guards to break their code of silence without any disciplinary tools. ``Fellow officers would not be mad if officers faced a choice between talking or losing their jobs,'' said Fresno lawyer Catherine Campbell who is handling a civil lawsuit on the 1994 shooting death of Preston Tate, a convicted rapist and Crips gang member killed by guards during a yard fight. State Senator Tom Hayden, D- Los Angeles, said the hearings could result in legislation forcing corrections investigations to be carried out by the Office of Inspector General, as well as further protections for whistle-blowers and changing the inmate exercise policy. ``This is a turning point in what has became an invisible policy of excessive force on inmates,'' Hayden said. 1998 San Francisco Chronicle Page A13 - --- Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)