THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF ARTICLES TITLED:
THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY. 4/29/2023
Donna Sturkin VS Vicky Patrick
We've watched it on TV, witnessed it personally, or been a victim of law enforcement corruption or abuse leaving us to ask the question, "Why do they keep bad personnel on the force?"
Most of us believe that Law Enforcement's purpose is to protect and serve, and while they may do that, in actuality, their job is to uphold and enforce the law.
So what happens when Law Enforcement breaks the laws they are sworn to uphold? Unless it makes big headlines, like in the case of Christopher Epps, former Commissioner of MDOC, who was sentenced to 19 years in Federal Prison, it may get swept under the rug.
This brings me to the Central Mississippi case of Donna Sturkin VS Vicky Patrick, where Sturkin sued Patrick on the basis Sturkin was subjected to regular, repeated harassment, coercion, punishment, and false reporting by Defendant Patrick.. Sturkin v. Patrick, CAUSE NO. 3:16-CV-434-CWR-FKB, (S.D. Miss. May. 10, 2019)
Donna Sturkin, a resident of Scott County Mississippi entered the Eighth Judicial District Drug Court whose purpose is to reduce the incidence of alcohol and drug use, addiction, and crimes committed as a result.
Donna was placed on probation and had to adhere to all of the requirements of drug court, including drug and alcohol testing, and payment of fines. Failing to meet any of those requirements could result in her receiving the maximum amount of prison time for her crime.
Donna's probation officer was Vicky Patrick, a deputy sheriff hired as a probation officer in 2005, and a former employee of the Leake County Sheriff's Department.
While in the Drug Court Program, Donna underwent regular testing for drugs and alcohol and attended periodic court appearances.
As Donna's probation officer, Patrick's job was to conduct home checks, make sure Donna maintained gainful employment, collect urine samples for random drug and alcohol screens, and report failures to the drug court judge.
Soon after becoming Donna Strukin's probation officer, Vicky Patrick began extorting Sturkin with demands that included allowing Patrick to steal goods from the store where Donna worked. In addition to that, Donna was also required to provide Patrick, as well as her friends and family, with free hotel rooms at the hotel where Donna was employed.
If Donna failed to meet Officer Patrick's demands, Officer Patrick threatened that Donna would be sent to the Mississippi Department of Corrections to serve the maximum prison sentence.
On several occasions, after Donna failed to comply with Officer Patrick's extortion demands, Patrick lied and reported to the circuit court judge that Donna had tested positive for alcohol consumption, and as a result, Donna was sent to the county jail on three different occasions.
Donna reported this improper behavior to Marcus Ellis Jr. the coordinator of the drug court and Officer Patrick's supervisor. Ellis told her to take up any problems she had with Patrick herself. Although Ellis stated he did not remember the conversation, he stated in an affidavit that is exactly how he would likely have responded at the time.
Donna's sister, Kathy Marler, also tried to call Ellis and tell him about what Officer Patrick had done, but she was not allowed to speak with Ellis, and shortly thereafter, Officer Patrick called Donna at the jail and told her if her family continued to call Drug Court, Donna's sentence would be extended for every phone call.
In a matter unrelated to Patrick's extortion of Donna Sturkin, Officer Patrick was fired from Drug Court.
When Donna Strukin learned Officer Patrick had been fired, she again called Ellis to discuss her experience with Officer Patrick. Ellis investigated and found that Donna's allegations regarding Patrick's extortion demands were true. Ellis also informed Donna that she had NOT failed any of her alcohol consumption tests.
Donna sued Officer Patrick and a jury awarded her damages and attorney's fees.
"To me, this is not over, cries Donna Sturkin, because from the beginning it wasn't about money. It was and still is about the fact that she should never be allowed to carry a badge or have any sort of authority over anyone after blatantly violating my civil rights and the civil rights of others who were too afraid to come forward and stand up for themselves.
You can read the full judgment summary of this case here: https://law.justia.com/cases/mississippi/court-of-appeals/2020/2019-ca-01512-coa.html
Not only did Officer Vicky Patrick violate Donna Sturkin's civil rights, but she also broke the law. She committed the crime of extortion and perjury by lying to a judge about Donna failing an alcohol and drug screen so she could maintain control over Donna and continue with her criminal activity.
Worse than that, she deprived Donna, whom the Drug Court was supposed to be helping turn her life around, of her freedoms and portions of her life she can not get back.
While Donna was sent to the county jail 3 times because Officer Patrick falsified her drug and alcohol screens, I can find no record of Patrick being punished nor charged with perjury or other crimes.
Shockingly, Officer Patrick currently works for MDOC as a Probation/Parole officer, supervising people and determining whether prisoners go back to prison for violation of parole or probation.
Would a bank robber ever be allowed to be president of a bank? Absolutely not, so why would we ever allow someone who has abused their power over people that are at their mercy and control, to be over others who are in a similar situation.
She should never be allowed to work in this capacity again, and according to the law, should be in jail for her crimes, not supervising people who have possibly committed lesser crimes.
We want Prisoners, innocent or guilty, who are under the control of Law Enforcement to come out as better people, not be subjected to crooked officers like Vicky Patrick.
There is a high probability this was not Vicky Patrick's first extortion of a probationer, nor her first time to lie on one, but according to other probationers, it was a matter of routine. (More about that in the next article.)
A high-stress job that officers don't know if they will come home from, officers of the law are human, they have normal human emotions of anger and sadness, and most often encounter the worst that mankind has to offer.
Crooked officers, like Patrick, cost other law enforcement officers their lives, destroy the public trust, and hurt morale within the departments they work for.
If victims never report it or newspapers don't report on bad officers, then it is possible, like, in the case of Patrick, they stay on the force.
In Epps case, it is a high probability that was not his first crime, and by the time a crooked officer of the law is caught, they have probably committed many more crimes they were never reported for, allowing them to work their way through the system, sometimes, all the way to the top.
Vicky Patrick is now one of the highest-paid probation officers in the state. Either MDOC failed to do a proper background check on Vicky Patrick or Patrick is working her way to the top.
