Nelson Cuba manages to turn a raped officer into a political event

[Driven1]

Police report inmate raped officer twice in hour-long attack

The prisoner broke her cell phone and stopped her from using pepper spray.

By DAVID HUNT, The Times-Union

First, the knife to the throat.

Jonathan Tave, 26, an inmate awaiting trial for murder, faces multiple charges after the assault Thursday. The officer - whose name is not being released - was not severely injured but is on leave, jail officials say.

Authorities are continuing to investigate how the inmate managed to sneak a homemade knife into the library. The assault lasted for about an hour, and Tave was apprehended at a nearby elevator.

Jail Chief Tara Wildes said Friday that, under jail policy, Tave should have been searched at least once before he went into the room. General practice is to search inmates before and after they leave their cells for the library or medical clinic. But she was unable to confirm whether Tave was searched.

Because of the size of the knife, "he could have been searched 100 times and we might not have found it," she said.

Fraternal Order of Police local President Nelson Cuba said Friday he was "outraged" by the attack and that it shows a need for more correctional officers.

"The shortage of manpower in that jail, the shortage of overtime to save money and the overpopulation of inmates caused this," Cuba said. "This shouldn't happen."

Read on...Cuba is even contradicted initially by the jail chief...

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/041908/met_270014652.shtml

[stephenc]

I completely agree with Nelson Cuba. Ask every one of the corrections officers and they will tell you the same thing. A female office should have NEVER been alone with that inmate for an hour to begin with. Were there no security camera in the library? I think the jail is very understaffed, and that needs to change or things like this will continue to happen.

[Driven1]

question:  why would the jail chief (the one directly in charge) not initially jump all over this very public chance to demand/ask for more jail staff if that was the problem?

[Lunican]

Nelson Cuba is the president of the local union so it is his job to advocate more officers and more overtime, which he did.

[Driven1]

Nelson Cuba is the president of the local union so it is his job to advocate more officers and more overtime, which he did.

but the question is "is there anything sacred?"  he used this tragedy for political reasons. 

[Lunican]

It's not quite as effective to claim you need more officers working more hours when everyone is behaving themselves.

[stephenc]

How is this political? Through this event, he is trying to better the conditions for all the officers at the jail.

[Steve]

It is political - but that's his job.  There is a reason that Nelson Cuba has been re-elected to his position without opposition: the rank and file seem to like him.  He is a force to be reckoned with.  Think about it - the Republican Executive Committee meets at the FOP Lodge.  How unbelieveably convenient.

Did you really think this was not going to happen?  Remember about a year ago when the city got off their rear end and finally started cleaning up Hemming Plaza?  Do you remember what prompted that?  A 16 year old getting his ass kicked by a vagrant.

It's a shame that it took that, but the call for more police and corrections wasn't really being answered, so if I was in Nelson Cuba's position (and I would never be because it involves doing this sort of thing), I'd do the exact same thing.