XIV
“Lights out!” blares across the PA system at Ohallowbee Detention Center for Boys. It’s eleven o’clock on a Friday night, and the boys are restless and getting a little rowdy. Chief Officer Bernard Williams begins to make his rounds, ordering the boys to their bunks.
The boys start complaining and simultaneously ask Officer Williams, “Ah, c’mon, Officer Williams! Let us ride out for at least another hour, until midnight.”
“You guys already know what time it is with me and how I get down,” states Officer Williams. “I suggest you all return to your bunks before I start taking away privileges around here.”
One by one, voices start mumbling. “Faggot . . . sissy . . . punk mother . . .”
“You girls got something y’all want to say to me?” asks Officer Williams while approaching the group.
No one responds, but the cold stares in their eyes say it all.
“Yeah! That’s what I thought,” Officer Williams says. “Now stand by them bunks while I complete my headcount to make sure none of you punks have escaped.”
As he passes each detainee, staring them up and down, the boys can’t help but notice the sinister grin on his face. He knows he has the authority to make their lives miserable, and he loves every minute of it.
A few hours past midnight, an officer-in-distress (OID) siren goes off in Ohallowbee’s West Unit sector. The distress call is triggered by the panic button attached to Officer Williams’s collar. Ohallowbee has a mandatory policy requiring all staff to wear a panic button for their safety during their shifts. Once a panic button is pressed, all staff must immediately stop what they’re doing and report to the location of the issue.
As the staff all arrive, the scene is reminiscent of a riot in a prison movie. Toilet paper has been hurled and is hanging from the ceiling, even stuck to the walls. Mattresses are scattered across the floor, and bunks are overturned. In the aftermath lies the beaten body of a sixteen-year-old boy who barely has a pulse. The boy’s identity is confirmed as Brandon Bright.
Staff members fear the worst as he lies unconscious and motionless on the cold concrete floor. The bruises and marks around his neck prompt staff members to perform CPR while waiting for the arrival of the paramedics. By the time the paramedics arrive, the atmosphere and morale of the detainees and staff are very somber. Brandon’s nearly lifeless body is transported to St. Peter Memorial Hospital.
Upon arriving, Brandon is taken to the critical care unit, where doctors race to examine his injuries. He is given a CAT scan and an x-ray to decide what procedures are necessary to save his life. The results of the x-ray show some unusual swelling and fluid around Brandon’s spinal cord. The doctors explain their findings to the Ohallowbee representatives who had accompanied Brandon to the hospital. Emergency surgery is needed. The doctors waste no time in operating.
The surgery lasts for hours, and the physicians finally emerge, saying, “Brandon is in stable condition.” They tell the representatives that, due to the aggressive nature of the strangulation he received, his spinal cord suffered severe trauma. He’s been placed in a medically induced coma. The doctors go on to say that their objective is to prevent further trauma that could possibly result in him having a stroke.
“We’ve done everything we can possibly do for him. It’s all up to him now. At this point we cannot say if it will be permanent, but if he pulls through this, he will most likely be paralyzed.”