Despite a staggering number of lawsuits and settlements totaling millions of dollars against Armor Correctional Health Services, coupled with a history of inmate deaths across the nation, leaders in Jacksonville have twice opted to contract with this controversial company. For the past six years, Armor has been responsible for managing healthcare within the Duval County jail system. This decision, made despite widespread public awareness of Armor’s troubled past, raises serious questions about accountability and due diligence in local governance.
Even before Jacksonville finalized its initial and subsequent contracts with the for-profit healthcare provider, media outlets nationwide had extensively reported on the lawsuits, fatalities, and systemic issues plaguing Armor Correctional. Yet, inquiries directed to city officials involved in approving these contracts have been met with silence. For four months, every city official contacted by The Tributary via phone, email, or text, regarding the outsourcing of jail medical care, has remained unresponsive.
This wall of silence includes key figures such as former Sheriff Mike Williams, who authorized the first contract with Armor, and former interim Sheriff Pat Ivey, who approved the second. Current Sheriff T.K. Waters cited potential litigation as a reason for his silence, despite having previously commented on the matter to a local Jacksonville television station. Furthermore, Tony Boselli, a Pro Football Hall of Famer and former Jacksonville Jaguars player who acted as a lobbyist for Armor, and all members of the City Council have also declined to comment.
Federal court records and Armor’s own logs reveal that the company has faced approximately 570 federal lawsuits since its inception in 2004. These legal actions encompass a range of serious allegations, including medical malpractice, wrongful deaths, and employment disputes, painting a grim picture of the company’s operational history.
Prior to 2018, Armor had already settled at least 43 lawsuits, according to bidding documents submitted in another Florida county. Investigations by The Tributary uncovered settlement amounts ranging from $300,000 to a staggering $7.8 million. Alarmingly, fourteen of these settlements were related to incidents within Florida jails, indicating a pattern of issues within the state.
The company is now facing the likelihood of another lawsuit from the family of Dexter Barry, a heart transplant recipient who tragically died in November. Barry’s death occurred after he was allegedly denied his crucial anti-rejection medications during a brief two-day stay at the Duval County Jail. This case further intensifies the scrutiny on Armor’s practices and the oversight, or lack thereof, by Jacksonville authorities.
Attorney Andrew Bonderud, representing Barry’s family, raises critical questions about the contract awarding process. “For a $98 million contract, why did the sheriff’s office or city not want to put it out for a competitive bid?” he questioned. “What did the Sheriff’s Office do to vet them? I think the Sheriff’s Office has a lot to answer for.” These unanswered questions underscore the growing demand for transparency and accountability surrounding Jacksonville’s relationship with Armor Correctional Health Services.
Armor’s Expansion and Jacksonville’s Entanglement
Armor Correctional’s rapid ascent in the correctional healthcare sector began in 2006, just two years after its founding. Within this short period, the company secured contracts exceeding $210 million, as reported by Prison Legal News. These initial contracts included significant counties in Florida such as Broward, Brevard, and Hillsborough, establishing a strong foothold in the state.
While the exact number of Florida counties currently contracting with Armor remains unclear due to a lack of statewide tracking at the local level, the company’s presence is substantial. Notably, the Florida Department of Corrections itself holds a $3.6 million contract with Armor for mental health services at the Florida Women’s Reception Center in Ocala.
Duval County’s initial agreement with Armor in 2017 was facilitated with the assistance of Tony Boselli, the celebrated former Jacksonville Jaguars player. In a move that bypassed competitive bidding, the city reportedly “piggybacked” on another county’s existing contract with Armor, according to a city spokesperson. When the contract renewal arose in 2022, a newly enacted city ordinance conveniently exempted medical care providers from competitive bidding requirements. This allowed the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office to renew Armor’s contract without seeking alternative bids, raising further concerns about transparency and fairness in the process.
Even prior to this renewal, the Duval County jail had already experienced a significant challenge with Armor during the COVID-19 pandemic. In June 2020, a doctor employed by Armor was identified as the source of a virus outbreak within the jail, leading to a surge in inmate infections. Subsequently, two corrections officers filed lawsuits against Armor, alleging they were infected after the doctor knowingly exposed them to the coronavirus. These incidents highlight a pattern of issues predating the contract renewals, making the city’s continued reliance on Armor even more perplexing.
Councilman’s Conflict and Criminal Conviction
In 2021, preceding the second contract agreement, the Florida Commission on Ethics issued an opinion regarding Council Vice President Ron Salem’s consultant pharmacist contract with Diamond Pharmaceuticals, a subcontractor of Armor. The commission determined that while Salem’s subcontract with Diamond itself wouldn’t constitute a conflict of interest with his council duties, he would be obligated to abstain from voting on any budget encompassing the Armor contract. Subsequently, the council strategically separated the funding for Armor’s contract from the general budget, enabling Salem to recuse himself from relevant votes, which he has consistently done.
Salem’s connection to Armor’s subcontractor was publicly acknowledged each time he recused himself from votes. The ethics opinion also detailed Salem’s responsibilities with Diamond, which included ensuring proper medication storage and monitoring for expired drugs. He was also tasked with generating monthly and quarterly reports on his “activities and findings” and identifying areas for improvement for both the sheriff’s office and Armor. Despite this role, the opinion clarified that Salem does not have direct involvement in inmate care, medication procurement, or dispensing.
By the time Jacksonville entered into its initial contract with Armor, the company had already accumulated at least 293 federal lawsuits. However, a more damning revelation emerged in 2018 when Armor Correctional Health Services faced criminal charges following the death of an inmate in Milwaukee. In November 2022, just a month after Jacksonville’s second contract was finalized, Armor was found guilty of neglect of residents of a penal facility and falsification of healthcare records in this case.
Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm emphasized the gravity of the situation in a news release following the conviction. “It is extremely rare to prosecute a corporation. However, such a prosecution is justified in particularly egregious circumstances,” Chisholm stated. “Armor Correctional betrayed the trust of the people of Milwaukee County by not only neglecting Mr. Thomas and others but also by attempting to hide the neglect by falsifying the medical records.”
Astonishingly, a Jacksonville city spokesperson confirmed that the city was unaware of Armor’s criminal conviction in November, even though Florida state law prohibits public contracts with convicted companies. When questioned about whether this conviction would impact the current contract, the spokesperson offered a vague response, stating, “We encourage all of our contract managers to review their vendor’s performance as to the terms of their contract.” The city declined to identify the contract manager and denied The Tributary’s request for an interview, further fueling concerns about transparency and accountability.
Following The Tributary’s reporting on the matter, the Florida Department of Management Services initiated an investigation into Armor for failing to disclose its criminal conviction to the state, as required by Florida law. This investigation is currently ongoing, adding another layer of scrutiny to Armor’s operations in the state. In response, an Armor representative issued a statement asserting that “the incident in Milwaukee referenced in the media is currently being disputed in the court system,” confirming the company has appealed the conviction.
Pattern of Dropped Contracts and Ongoing Deficiencies
Armor’s problematic history extends beyond lawsuits and convictions, encompassing a pattern of terminated contracts. The company has lost at least 11 contracts due to issues of accountability and inadequate care provided by its employees, according to previous reports and court documents.
Sheriff’s offices in Oklahoma County and El Paso dropped their contracts with Armor in 2019. In March 2022, the Virginia Department of Corrections terminated its statewide contract. More recently, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office in Georgia has also sought to end its agreement with Armor. Furthermore, a lawsuit by the New York attorney general resulted in a $350,000 settlement and a three-year ban on Armor from securing government contracts for prison health services in New York.
Florida sheriffs have also joined this trend. Broward County terminated its contract with Armor after at least 15 deaths were reported in its jail. In 2018, Volusia County sought bids from other providers following multiple inmate suicides, seeking a contract with enhanced mental health services. Brevard County followed suit and terminated its contract with Armor a year later. Court records further indicate that Wakulla and Sarasota counties also dropped contracts due to dissatisfaction with Armor’s performance.
In Baker County, Sheriff Scotty Rhoden cited a loss of trust in Armor as the reason for contract termination, stating in a lawsuit that an Armor physician instructed an employee to withhold information from him. Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly ended his department’s contract in 2019 after the death of 23-year-old Anthony Fennick, who suffered a medical episode while in custody. Sheriff Staly stated that Armor showed “little interest in anything other than denying responsibility and trying to bill us for even more money” following this tragedy.
While Armor has disputed that these contract losses were due to deaths in jails, attributing them to “the normal RFP process,” public officials in these counties have presented a different narrative. A state audit of the Flagler jail revealed expired medications, lapses in medical care by Armor, and other service deficiencies. Sheriff Staly noted that Armor never contacted him after Fennick’s death, instead sending a letter denying liability and dismissing his concerns.
Armor’s shortcomings have also negatively impacted Duval County. A 2022 Florida Model Jail Inspection identified that the Duval jail failed to meet standards for providing health screenings to every inmate within 14 days of admission. The audit revealed that 34 out of 42 reviewed medical charts lacked completed appraisals, causing a significant backlog. Despite the Sheriff’s Office claiming to have addressed the backlog, The Tributary found that a backlog of health screenings still existed as recently as April. While an Armor representative claimed on June 7 that no backlog remained, the Sheriff’s Office confirmed on June 13 that nine incomplete health screenings were still outstanding, citing various reasons such as inmate refusal, court appearances, and hospital visits.
Following The Tributary’s ongoing reporting, the Sheriff’s Office has announced a review of Armor’s medical care within Duval County jails. This review, prompted by persistent questions and revelations about Armor’s troubled history and ongoing performance issues, may finally signal a shift towards greater scrutiny and accountability in Jacksonville’s approach to correctional healthcare.
This story is a collaborative effort between WJCT News and The Tributary.
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