Perez said that after working four hours on Mayor Sheila Dixon's executive detail Oct. 28, 2007, he was asked to go to Mercy Medical Center to guard Smith, who had confessed to killing his ex-girlfriend, Coppin State University student Veronica Fludd. Smith had been taken to the hospital for medical evaluation after slashing his wrists in police custody, but Perez said no one told him the details of the situation or gave him instructions, other than to keep an eye on Smith.
Hours later, Everett began her shift as the supervisor in charge for the Southwestern District and was told one of her officers was assigned to Mercy. She went about her work, heading out to the streets and investigating a burglary, she said.
At about 11 a.m., she said, she received a call from another supervisor. "We've got a problem," he said.
Smith had broken free, grabbed Perez and put him in a bear hug as he tried to get his gun. With his leg irons still on, Smith ran out of the hospital room, struggled again with Perez in the hallway, then punched through a nearby window and jumped to his death.
Smith was "determined" to kill himself, a police spokesman said at the time.
The department's general orders did not spell out how many officers should be assigned to a suicidal suspect or how long an officer should guard a detainee at a hospital before being relieved by another officer, only instructing officers not to assist in their medical care. And there were no instructions for supervisors.
But according to internal police documents, Everett was sanctioned for failing to inform Perez that the suspect he was guarding was suicidal, failing to inform him of the procedures for guarding prisoners in a hospital and failing to personally inspect the hospital detail, which was miles from her district.
Superiors recommended that Everett attend remedial arrest training and nonpunitive counseling. A note was tucked into her personnel file indicating that she had accepted her punishment, despite other documents indicating her refusal to sign paperwork, and she said her request for an internal hearing has been ignored. The law enforcement bill of rights, a state law, guarantees the right to hearings in such cases.
She said she has also been written up several times for "insignificant" infractions.
Paul M. Blair Jr., the city police union's departing president, lamented that the supervisor has long been the "fall guy" whenever an incident draws negative attention. But he said the process is largely fair. "Most times," he said.
Perez, who injured his rotator cuff in the incident and is still recovering, said he was told that he would be suspended for two days and has not heard anything since. He is assigned to desk duty.
Police did not respond to the officers' accusations or questions about whether the department's policies have changed, but Mercy has changed its protocols for treatment of prisoners or persons in police custody, now requiring that two full-duty officers be assigned to guard each prisoner.
"Mercy and other Maryland hospitals and the [Maryland Hospital Association] had a number of conversations with law enforcement officials following the several incidents of prisoner-related violence in hospitals across the state," said Dan Collins, a Mercy spokesman. "All affected hospitals emphasized the need for two officers per prisoner patient."
