Gary Elde began his career in Corrections as the Jailer for the City of Seward, Alaska. Even then he was known for having a cruel streak, illustrated by an incident in which he described, in great detail, the suicide of a female prisoner in his care to another female prisoner while sitting on the bunk in her cell.
Regardless of his purpose in doing so, both the revelation of that information and the place of its revelation were unprofessional and inappropriate terms that will be shown to characterize his behavior to this day.
This is evidenced by his part in one of Seward's more notorious
scandals, erupting like a Greek tragedy of marital infidelity
and familial betrayal when he was discovered to have been having
sexual relations with the wife of his brother, much to his own
wife's chagrin.
Although the peccadilloes of the prison staff is not the subject matter of this article, in this case the incident indicates aspects of the character of this particular Corrections employee, and is relevant because he has been hired for the purpose of facilitating the rehabilitation of prisoners in the custody of the Department of Corrections (DOC).
It is the belief of this writer
that the hiring and continued retention, of Gary Elde by the DOC
was, and remains, a demonstrable error.
It will be shown that Elde has found an occupation that permits
him to abuse other human beings, to exercise the defects in his
spiritual and psychological development, in an environment that
protects him...by cloaking his actions in the guise of declared
standards like Vigilance, Pride, Dedication, and a Code of Ethics
it is doubtful he could recite, much less live up to.
An early indicator of his nature was made apparent when, shortly after his hiring by the DOC, Elde volunteered to become a member of the Spring Creek Correctional Center Emergency Response Unit (ERU).
He quickly took to the pseudo-combat uniform: Black cargo-pocket jumpsuit, with legs bloused over black combat boots, black body armor, and black cap.
Along with that look came an attitude he displayed when, upon entering the institution after a session on the gun range, he quipped to his fellow ERU members that prisoners should be required to wear targets as part of their prison uniform.
Possessing such a view indicates his immaturity and unsuitability for the position he holds, but also that he shared that view with other ERU members without rebuke was a reflection of their overall lack of professionalism.
However, his immaturity was compounded by his arrogance when he made the statement, plainly and loudly, within sight and hearing of several prisoner's family members who were awaiting entry into the Visiting Room.
When confronted with his statement by a prisoner after visiting, Elde first denied the words outright, then conceded that one of the other officers may have said something that had been misinterpreted, but that he would try to see that it did not happen again.
For approximately the past year and a half, Gary Elde has been assigned as the Inmate Services Sergeant. In this position he is responsible for overseeing the operations of the institutions commissary, Property, Hobby Craft Shop, Recreation, and Job Services departments.
What follows are examples of actions that support the view that Gary Elde is unsuited to the authority given him in his present capacity by prison administrators.
Prior to his promotion to sergeant, as a guard in the Segregation Unit, Elde became known for his cowardly efforts to make life difficult for segregated, isolated, and securely housed or restrained prisoners.
One such prisoner, having been interminably taunted about his medicated and mentally ill condition, tossed a cup of urine at Elde.
This incident is notable at this point because, after Elde assumed supervision of the Commissary, that prisoner suddenly found that his commissary orders were lost or had items added to them to make their cost greater than the allowed limit and, as such, undeliverable or invalid.
The effect of losing or altering
the orders was that the prisoner was denied the ability to obtain
soap, shampoo, toothpaste, laundry detergent and other necessities
for a period of nearly two months.
Repeated complaints about the tampering brought no relief until
another Sergeant photocopied the prisoners order form before placing
it with all the other orders prior to their delivery to the commissary
Officer.
When, once again, the order was denied delivery for being over the approved limit, the Sergeant confronted Elde with the photocopy.
This proved that not only had the order been tampered with, but that the tampering had been done by, or under the direct supervision of, one of two officers: Elde or his subordinate Commissary Officer.
Still, that was not enough to cause Elde to relent, and it was necessary for the Sergeant to report the matter to one of the Assistant Superintendents, who demanded that the original items ordered, be relinquished and that the tampering be stopped.
Although Elde's attitude and actions might be viewed by some as being justifiable, retaliation is always unprofessional, and especially so in this case, considering that the prisoner was mentally ill and responding to stimulus outside of his control.
Similar vindictive actions appear to have taken place in Elde's role as Hobby Shop overseer when a prisoner reported, and provided receipts to prove; to Superintendent Larry Kincheloe that Elde was using the prisoner-supported Hobby Shop Fund to make unauthorized purchases for projects in other areas of his responsibility.
In response to his actions being questioned, Elde ordered the Hobby Shop Officer to write a disciplinary report on the prisoner for non-existent violations of Hobby Shop rules.
When the officer refused to do so, having found no violations, Elde instigated a Security investigation and the Institution Security Sergeant restricted the prisoners access to the Hobby Shop program, work assignment, and contact visiting pending completion of the investigation into the prisoners activities.
Complaints of retaliation to the superintendent eventually resulted in the prisoner being permitted to return to work and have contact visits, but he remains barred from the Hobby Shop.
Responsible for oversight of the Property department, Elde co-supervised and participated in a massive shakedown of the SCCC facility during the period of April 26 - 29, 1998.
The stated purpose was to find contraband, weapons, and to seize excess personal property. Although such lockdowns and searches are common in prisons, the manner in which this search was conducted was, one should hope, most uncommon.
Elde took full advantage of the opportunity to abuse his authority. He and many of the guards working with him or under his supervision behaved unprofessionally as they high-five each other and trashed cells, needlessly stripping them of legal materials, personal papers and photographs, approved commissary items, and clearly marked personal clothing and property.
A plethora of examples of individual abuses could be offered, but it should suffice to state that so much property was wrongfully and inappropriately confiscated that the institutions combination library-classroom, the largest room in the institution (except the gym), had to be and remains commandeered to process the return of seized property.
It is notable that prison officials provided Anchorage television stations with a press release claiming that two shanks had been found during an extensive shakedown of Alaska's maximum security prison.
They failed to explain that one weapon was a piece of plastic dowel several inches long, and the other weapon was a plastic institution butter knife that was being used to prop up a house plant in one of the cells.
Neither prisoner found in possession of these weapons were criminally charged with their possession.
Although I have offered only a few examples to demonstrate Gary Elde's propensity to abuse his authority to the detriment of the DOC and prisoners, alike, more disturbing is the failure of his superiors to act to check that propensity.
Indeed, originally given the rank of Sergeant on a probationary basis, his superiors have made that rank permanent therefore his abuse of authority continues unabated and his attitude grows more arrogant.
Correctional
Officers & Prison Administrators