The Militant - March 27, 2006 -- Black teenager killed at Florida boot camp

Vol. 70/No. 12 March 27, 2006

Black teenager killed at Florida boot camp

BY ELLEN BRICKLEY
MIAMI—Fourteen-year-old Martin Lee Anderson died January 6 following a beating by guards while imprisoned at a juvenile boot camp in Panama City, Florida. A 30-minute video shows the eighth grader surrounded by up to nine uniformed drill instructors, while five guards punched, kicked, and choked him. For more than 20 minutes a nurse stood by, hands on hips, observing the assault but doing nothing to stop it. Through it all Anderson is limp; his only movement is the writhing of his legs while cops are on top of him.

The beating took place shortly after Anderson was admitted to the camp. He collapsed after complaining of breathing trouble during the rigorous physical evaluation portion of the enrollment. Guards then shoved capsules of ammonia up his nose. Anderson was arrested in June for taking his grandmother’s car on a joy ride. He was sent to the boot camp for violating his probation by trespassing at a school. The boot camp is similar to military-style facilities for youth around the country. Six hundred boys between 14 and 18 are imprisoned in five camps in Florida.

Anderson’s family pleaded for more than a month to have the video released to the public. A lawsuit by the Miami Herald and CNN forced its release. The autopsy by Bay County chief medical examiner Charles Siebert ruled that Anderson died of “natural causes.” The Bay County sheriff announced February 21 that the boot camp will be closed in 90 days.

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