Nation - Rhode Island Judge to review videotapes in death of detainee at jail facility Staff is accused of denying man proper medical care

By Eric Tucker Associated Press Writer PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A judge said Wednesday he would review videotapes that federal investigators say show a cancer-stricken Chinese immigration detainee being abused and mistreated at a privately operated Rhode Island jail. U.S. District Judge William Smith said he would look at the tapes, recorded two years ago at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, before deciding whether to grant a request to seal them from the public. A lawsuit accuses Wyatt staff of abusing Hiu Lui "Jason" Ng and denying him access to adequate medical care. Ng, a 34-year-old Chinese immigrant who lived in New York City, was detained for overstaying a visa. He died at a hospital in August 2008 of advanced liver cancer that went undiagnosed until right before his death. The videos include footage of Ng being dragged screaming down a hallway and being denied access to a wheelchair, even though he said he was unable to walk, according to a January 2009 report from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE removed all its detainees from Wyatt after Ng's death and terminated its contract with the jail. Jeffrey Techentin, a lawyer for the corporation that operates Wyatt, argued that the videos would receive widespread coverage if given to the media and that releasing them to the public would taint a jury before trial. "What I guess is that you will see snippets," Techentin said. "They will be broadcast at length, whether now or when this case goes to trial." Lawyers for Ng's widow have requested all video footage showing Ng at the jail. Techentin said all parties in the lawsuit should be entitled to the videos, but he asked for an order prohibiting release of the footage to anyone else. Smith said Wednesday he wanted to see the videos himself before making a decision and invited the lawyers to watch with him in the coming weeks. He said Techentin's request assumed that someone would willingly make the videos public or give them to the media. "It would take an affirmative act of someone to do something with that videotape to get out in the mainstream media," Smith said. The ICE report says video taken days before Ng's death shows him screaming while being dragged by the arms down a hallway and onto a bus, where he was then driven to Hartford, Conn. The video also shows Ng being denied use of a wheelchair and being ordered to stand up, even though Ng said he was unable to walk, ICE says. ICE said a handheld camcorder used by the staff that recorded the encounter was shut on and off about nine times in the span of 40 minutes. Fidelma Fitzpatrick, a lawyer for Ng's widow, said she had concerns about sealing the videos but that it was difficult for her to respond to Techentin's request since she had not seen the footage herself. The jail says it's fired some staffers since Ng's death and that some board members have been replaced. Wyatt continues to hold federal detainees awaiting trial or to be taken into the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prison. Published: Fri, May 28, 2010

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