Ocala prosecutors: No criminal charges in case that left female prison inmate paralyzed

The State Attorney's Office has decided not to charge the state corrections officers accused of beating and paralyzing a female inmate nearly three years ago at a women's prison north of Ocala.

After reviewing interviews, reports, surveillance videos, documents and other material, the state determined it did not have enough evidence to sustain a prosecution.

Chief Assistant State Attorney Walter Forgie wrote a six-page memorandum for State Attorney Bill Gladson outlining the process he used to arrive at that recommendation.

Protest:Ocala protesters want answers in case where inmate was allegedly beaten at women's prison

Charges:Guardsman, who aspires to be state corrections officer, charged with sexually abusing woman

Resolved:Man, woman accept plea deals in separate cases at Ocala courthouse

Forgie explored several charges that could have been filed against Lt. Keith Turner or Corrections Officer Ryan Dionne, both of whom worked at Lowell Correctional Institution. (Turner has since been fired. He was later arrested by sheriff's deputies in an unrelated sex case that remains ongoing. Dionne has since resigned from the department.) 

However, "In summary, despite the horrendous injury suffered by Ms. (Cheryl) Weimar, there is insufficient evidence to prove that the injury was intentional or as a result of culpable negligence. Therefore, I recommend that this office take no further action in the matter," Forgie wrote. 

The incident involving Cheryl Weimar

Weimar was sentenced to prison for two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and resisting an officer. She was sentenced in Broward County in 2016 and was scheduled to serve close to seven years behind bars. 

At Lowell, Weimar was a "houseman" in a dorm. One of her duties was cleaning toilets.

On Aug. 21, 2019, Weimar told Corrections Officer Esteban Baez that her back was hurting and she wasn't going to clean the toilets. She was told she couldn't be excused from work without a medical pass, but she still refused to work, according to Forgie's memo.

Weimar continued to refuse to work, even though she was told she would be sent to confinement. Baez called for assistance so Weimar could be escorted to the medical building for a pre-confinement medical check.

Handcuffed behind her back, Weimar was moved. She was led to a chair and sat down. She was told she was going to confinement. She said she wanted her eyeglasses and was told those, along with other items, would be given to her. 

Turner and Dionne went to the dorm to assist Baez. Surveillance video shows Turner putting his right hand under Weimar's left arm. Weimar stands up, turns slightly to the right and then falls to her knees.

Turner still holds onto her and Dionne comes over and puts his left hand under Weimar's right arm, according to a summary of the video that is included in Forgie's memo. She stands up, and Weimar and the officers walk away.  

Dionne, Baez and Turner said in later official interviews that Weimar kicked the two officers escorting her as they were walking on the sidewalk after leaving the dorm. From the kicking, Dionne lost control of Weimar, and she and Turner fell down, according to the memo.

Turner told investigators that because of Weimar's size, he couldn't support her alone and that he "redirected" her away from the sidewalk to the grass.

The officers said Weimar "landed on her stomach and that her head was tilted forward with her chin on her chest." Dionne said Weimar's "momentum carried her forward, pushing her shoulders over her head."

"There is no video that covers the area where the injury occurred," according to the memo.

Baez was in the dorm hallway, according to the memo. When Baez tried to help his colleague, he was told to get a handheld camera at the medical building. The camera was needed since there had been use of force, the memo states.

Both Turner and Dionne struggled with Weimar to the medical building. Along the way, the officers said, Weimar made "some effort to walk on her own." She was placed on the floor, then in a wheelchair and into a prison medical van that took her to another building.

She was removed from the vehicle and put in a chair and onto an examination table. A doctor saw Weimar and an ambulance was called. She was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Weimar's cervical spine was fractured, and her cervical cord was damaged, the memo notes. Weimar is now a quadriplegic.

Two charges prosecutors considered filing were aggravated battery and culpable negligence. The aggravated battery charge would have concerned the takedown of Weimar. The culpable negligence would have concerned the movement of the injured woman after the takedown.

Aggravated battery

To sustain a charge of aggravated battery, Forgie wrote in his memo, the state would have to prove "that either Lt. Turner or C.O. Dionne intentionally struck Ms. Weimar causing great bodily harm or permanent disability."

"There is no doubt that Ms. Weimar suffered great bodily harm and permanent disability. However, there is no reliable evidence that the actions of either Lt. Turner or C.O. Dionne was done with any intent to cause harm," the memo states.  

Forgie wrote: "While it appears Lt. Turner deliberately took Ms. Weimar to the ground, this was not unreasonable under the circumstances."

The memo mentions that Dionne "lost his grip," and Turner "was no longer able to support her."

At the time, Weimar was "being uncooperative," and Turner "needed to regain control of her and taking her to the ground was a standard way of doing this," according to the memo.

"The fact that Lt. Turner pushed Ms. Weimar toward the grass and not toward the sidewalk they were walking on further supports the conclusion that takedown was not done maliciously. Given the circumstances of the takedown, the statements of the inmates with their internal inconsistences and the demonstrable inaccuracies, there is more than reasonable doubt as whether the takedown was done with more force than necessary," Forgie wrote.

Weimar's lawyer, Ryan Andrews of the Andrews Law Firm in Tallahassee, hired a biomechanical engineer to evaluate Weimar's injury. The report states that the woman's injury "could be achieved by an officer dropping their knee with their full body weight onto Ms. Weimar's neck," according to Forgie's memo. 

Forgie wrote that although the biomechanical engineer report states the injury to Weimar's neck "is consistent with a deliberate blow to the back of her neck, (for which there is no credible evidence) he also supports the argument that it was the result of a fall. Considering all the evidence, there is no reasonable possibility that a jury would convict either corrections officer of aggravated battery."

Culpable negligence

Prosecutors considered charging culpable negligence. But to do so, they would have to prove multiple factors. For instance, the act would have to be "gross and flagrant," a show of "reckless disregard for human life, or for the safety of persons exposed to its dangerous effects."

According to the memo, in cases where trained professionals are involved, "the courts have held that the training and procedure used by those professionals must be considered."

For Turner and Dionne, the memo says, there's no evidence that their actions "were inconsistent with the procedures appropriate to the moving of an uncooperative inmate and where it was precipitated by Ms. Weimar's actions of kicking her legs."

Prosecutors also wanted to see if culpable negligence could be filed against Turner and Dionne for continuing to carry Weimar to the medical building even though her neck was broken.

But in reviewing the evidence they had, prosecutors felt they could not charge the men.

"With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to take the position that they should have stabilized her before moving her. However, their actions must be judged based on the information they had at the time," the memo says.

Prosecutors also checked to see if a charge could be filed against the staff for moving Weimar from the floor to her final destination on the examination table.

But "it's not clear that any of the staff involved in these moves were aware of the takedown," the memo says. "It is clear from their conversation recorded on the handheld video cameras that they believed she was deliberately being uncooperative.

"Again, given the circumstances, I do not believe that a jury would find their actions to be Culpable Negligence," Forgie wrote. 

Forgie's statement to the Star-Banner

Forgie told the Star-Banner: "While there is no question that the injury suffered by Ms. Weimar was tragic, this alone is not sufficient to charge a crime."

He said that, "given her actions prior to the takedown, which were captured on video, there is insufficient evidence to prove that the injury was the result of excessive force, intentional, or the result of culpable negligence." He added: "Accordingly, no criminal charges will be filed on this matter."

The prosecutor said "the results of the investigation have been discussed with both counsel for Ms. Weimar and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. The department’s review of this was matter was both thorough and complete." 

Reactions to the state's decision

Debra Bennett, a former inmate at Lowell who has organized multiple protests complaining about conditions at the prison and for Weimar, was shocked, but not surprised at the decision.

"I'm disgusted and disappointed, but not surprised. This is the way the legal system works. Excuses are made and accountability never comes," she said.

Bennett said if Weimar's case was not worthy to be prosecuted, then why did state officials settle her lawsuit?

"That money would've never been paid if it was nothing," Bennett said. "She couldn't have caused the injury to herself."

Weimar sued the state DOC and received a $4.65 million settlement, which included lawyer fees and costs. But in the settlement, state officials said the agreement should not be "construed as an admission by the FDC of any wrongful acts of any kind or nature whatsoever committed by the FDC or any FDC releasee."

Last month, Bennett and a group of people held signs and protested in front of the State Attorney's Office, wanting to know why the review was taking so long.

The founder of a nonprofit organization called Change Comes Now, Bennett said the decision is bad for those presently in the prison.

"Now all we can do is to wait for it to happen again and hopefully someone can be held accountable," she said.

Cheryl Weimar's reaction

Released in September 2020, Weimar is presently living in a rehabilitation facility in Fort Walton Beach. 

Reached by phone on Friday, Weimar said "it sucks" that no one is being charged and "they hurt me," making reference to the correction officers.

"I'm appalled that they're getting away with this," she said.

Weimar said she's trying to put the incident behind her.

"I'm trying to move forward with my life," she said.

She said she hates them for what they did to her, but doesn't hate them.

"I hope they find solace in Jesus Christ before they pass," she said.

Weimar's lawyer responds

Andrews said he and his team have spent thousands of hours investigating the case for the civil lawsuit.

The lawyer said from his perspective, he believes there's enough to charge the men. However, he acknowledged that prosecutors had looked at the case from every angle and "worked their tails off." If something was there, he believes they would've charged someone.

"I believe they thoroughly looked at it. While I disagree with their findings and their decision, I've never prosecuted anyone, so it's not for me to judge," he said.

He thanked Forgie and Gladson for doing all they could for Weimar.

"They've kept in good contact with us and explained the process to us," Andrews said.

Background of the investigation

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement conducted the Weimar investigation. FDLE agents interviewed 117 people, including inmates, security personnel, medical staff and Weimar herself, according to Forgie's memo.

Prosecutors said medical records were obtained and reviewed, along with videos. Some witnesses initially refused to be interviewed and prosecutors had to get subpoenas to secure their testimony. The corrections officers gave statements to the FDLE. Weimar said she didn't remember suffering the injury.

The FDLE report was delivered to the State Attorney's Office in November for review and consideration of criminal charges. 

Lowell Correctional has been under fire for years because of what current and former inmates and their family and friends have said is unfair treatment. The federal government has also weighed in with a separate investigation and issued a blistering report about the facility. 

Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com.