'Fight Club' For Disabled Causes Firestorm In Texas

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by The Associated Press

“These were deplorable, despicable, criminal actions that should not be tolerated, that are unacceptable.”

State Rep. Abel Herrero of Corpus Christi, Texas

 

NPR.org, March 12, 2009 ·Facing outrage and demands for reform, the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services says it is beefing up security and surveillance in the wake of reports of organized, after-hours fights among disabled residents at a state-run facility.

The head of the agency, Commissioner Addie Horn, broke into tears as lawmakers grilled her about the alleged abuse at a state facility in Corpus Christi, where police say caretakers appeared to have organized a "fight club" in which mentally and developmentally disabled residents were encouraged to fight each other for the staff's entertainment.

Horn vowed to combat future abuses "with every fiber in my body." She also described what she'd like to do to the perpetrators of the alleged incidents in Corpus Christi.

"I'd like to hunt 'em down and kill them," she said.

Arrest warrants for six individuals in connection with the allegations were issued Thursday. All six are charged with injury to a disabled person, officials said.

Horn faced a skeptical crowd of lawmakers when she laid out plans to buy surveillance cameras, add security guards on all shifts, and study additional measures such as increased lighting and uniforms for state workers.

"These were deplorable, despicable, criminal actions that should not be tolerated, that are unacceptable," said state Rep. Abel Herrero, who represents Corpus Christi. Herrero put Horn on the hot seat during a legislative hearing that explored the alleged abuse.

Herrero said it was "disingenuous" for Horn to claim she was reacting quickly to end the abuse. Herrero said he had been calling on the department since the summer of 2007 to install security cameras, an action the agency is only now undertaking.

Horn said she couldn't do it sooner because federal authorities had not given their approval. Otherwise, the commissioner said she had done all she thought possible but felt terrible about what had happened.

"Is it too late for the individuals who were involved in this incident and had this abuse perpetrated on them? I would answer, yes sir, it is too late, and … I will live with that every day," she said. Horn later acknowledged that the abuse may not have occurred had security cameras been installed at the time.

Officials say at least 20 videos found on a cell phone show several fights at the Corpus Christi facility dating back to 2007 — including one where a disabled resident raises his hands in victory after a bout.

The Corpus Christi facility, which houses 340 residents, is one of 13 institutions known as state schools, which have been the focus of a series of allegations of abuse and neglect.

A Justice Department report released in December found at least 53 patients in the facilities died in 2007 from preventable conditions that were often the result of lapses in care. It also charged that the facilities, where nearly 5,000 people live, violate residents' rights.

Earlier this year, Gov. Rick Perry made the reforms of state schools a legislative emergency. The Senate approved legislation earlier this week designed to boost investigative powers and provide better staff training and background checks.

State Rep. Patrick Rose has a similar bill moving through a House committee. Rose, who saw some of the videos from the Corpus Christi incidents, called the abuse there "one of the most alarming abuses of trust" he'd ever seen by state workers.

"This is too serious to wait, and it's too serious to be talking about just now," Rose said. "We should have been talking about this years ago."