Worker charged in abuse of mentally handicapped

A supervisor at the now-closed Choctaw Living Center faces a felony charge that accuses him of abusing three of its mentally handicapped patients.

Paul Harvey Ward, 43, was charged after other employees described his mistreatment of patients at the troubled private home. He has not been arrested.

He twisted one resident’s finger so badly last May it was dislocated, prosecutors said.

Ward is accused of telling the resident, "You’re not going to flip me or anyone else off again."

Ward became a supervisor at the center even though he was on probation for a grand larceny charge, dropped out of high school and had previous work experience only as a car salesman and mortuary apprentice.

In 1998, he admitted to probation officers he used marijuana, cocaine, Valium and alcohol. He said he was treated at Presbyterian Hospital in 1985 for cocaine abuse and checked himself in St. Anthony Hospital in 1997 for drug and alcohol treatment.

The Choctaw Living Center was closed in September, days after one mentally retarded patient strangled another.

Prosecutors filed a second-degree murder charge against Jerome Vaught even though they acknowledge he may be too mentally retarded to ever face trial over the death of Joe Louis "J.J." McCormick.

The state Health Department closed the center after learning employees had encouraged confrontations between the two men.

Ward is charged in Oklahoma County District Court with four felony counts of caretaker abuse. Each count has a maximum punishment of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

"Ward was interviewed on the allegations of abuse and denied all allegations," said Roger Hunt, an investigator for Attorney General Drew Edmondson.

In the first count, Ward is accused of abusing resident Jenny Smith on June 6. Another employee reported seeing Ward grab Smith’s thighs to stop her from banging her head on a window.

"Smith fell to the floor and said, ‘Ow, that hurts,’" the investigator was told. Employees later found bruises on Smith’s thighs.

In the second count, Ward is accused of abusing Smith again June 7. Employees reported Ward threw her on her bed and pinned her there with his knee.

In the third count, Ward is accused of abusing resident Eric Sutton June 5. Three employees told the investigator Ward knocked Sutton to the floor after the resident became violent.

One employee, Freda Davis, "heard someone running down the hall and turned to see that it was Supervisor Paul Ward. Supervisor Ward then tackled resident Sutton with a football style tackle and both fell to the tiled floor," the investigator reported.

In the fourth count, Ward is accused of abusing resident John McGlamery May 19 by twisting his finger.

The investigator also looked into an employee’s claim that Ward in April had kicked McCormick, the patient who later died. He was not charged, however, over that allegation.

Ward pleaded no contest in 1998 to a felony grand larceny charge. A girlfriend accused him of trashing her apartment and stealing items after she broke off their relationship.

He could not be reached Thursday for comment.

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