GRAFTON — A Grafton Correctional Institution prison guard continues to work with another guard whom he accused of making a racially charged comment last month.

According to copies of prison documents obtained by The Chronicle, Lt. David Adams, who is white, allegedly used racial epithets in a comment expressing hatred for blacks, Hispanics and “white trash” during a conversation with two black inmates.

Corrections Officer Allen Penny, who is black and was sitting at his nearby desk, took offense to the remark and filed a formal complaint against Adams. Penny and Adams, a supervisor, continue to work together while an investigation is conducted.

Gwynette Shaw, the warden’s assistant, said the needs of the shift dictate how much interaction the two men have on any given day.

“When you’re working on an investigation, you have to complete that before you make any changes,” Shaw said.

According to Penny’s account, he wrote that he was “shocked and offended” by the comment and considered it “very unprofessional, inappropriate and offensive characteristics that a man in such a position should not carry.”

Penny also wrote that he was uncomfortable in part because he fell into one of the racial categories that Adams allegedly claimed to hate.

But according to one inmate Adams was talking with during the Feb. 11 incident, Penny took the comment out of context.

Inmate Eugene Thompson, who is serving a life sentence on murder and aggravated robbery convictions out of Cuyahoga County, wrote that Adams was talking about people who were biased and that he knew Adams wasn’t a racist. Another inmate, Jasin Oliphant, who is serving a 10-year sentence on robbery and burglary convictions out of Lucas County, wrote in his account of the incident that he, Adams and Thompson were discussing society and racism.

Oliphant — who, like Thompson, is black — wrote that while he didn’t find the statement offensive, he could see how someone hearing only that part of the conversation could be offended.

Shaw said Adams has had no prior disciplinary problems, at least in the past two years, and that it was an administrative decision to keep him working while the investigation was conducted.

“He has his right to hearings,” she said.

Contact Brad Dicken at 329-7147 or bdicken@chroniclet.com.

 

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