EXCLUSIVE- Criminal Charges Filed Against Alligator Alcatraz Leadership After Officer Assault
A corrections officer at Alligator Alcatraz has filed criminal charges after being assaulted by an assistant warden. In an exclusive interview, he detailed his assault while also describing a culture of “psychological torture,” where staff allegedly urged a suicidal detainee to kill himself.
By Nick Valencia | August 30, 2025
COLLIER COUNTY, FLORIDA — A corrections officer at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition facility (TNT)—better known as Alligator Alcatraz—has filed criminal charges against senior leadership after being physically assaulted inside the compound Friday morning.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, the source said the assault he experienced on Friday at the hands of an assistant warden was part of a broader pattern of abuse at the facility. In a more than 30 minute interview, the source described a “racist work environment” that was uncomfortable for staff, but especially for those in custody.
The officer recounted witnessing a detainee—being escorted for a medical evaluation due to suicidal thoughts—taunted by two guards.
“They antagonized this man all the way to the medical unit. Talking crazy to him, saying, ‘You’re a piece of shit. Oh, you want to kill yourself? Just go ahead and die.’ They told him that while he was being taken to see if he should go on suicide watch.”
The officer was part of the first wave of employees hired at the Everglades-based site and as of Friday is no longer at the facility. He spoke exclusively to Nick Valencia News hours after his departure.
“He Took A Swing At Me”
On Friday morning just after 9am, the source alleges he was called into the office and “assaulted by an assistant warden.”
“He took a swing at me. I could have put his ass in the hospital, but I chose not to,” he said over the phone. “I called the police, I filed a statement, and I advised the police that I want to press charges.”
The altercation allegedly began after the source raised concerns about his living conditions. Some of the staff at the facility sleep on site in camper trailers with “running water, electricity, gas, a kitchenette and a couch."
“I had requested a larger, better-ventilated room and was reassigned to an RV camper by CRS, the private contractor operating the site,” he said.
That accommodation, however, sparked questions from DOC supervisors, which resulted in the altercation, he said.
“One of them told me, ‘When I hold my hand up, that means shut the fuck up.’ Then he said it again. I told him, ‘Don’t disrespect me. I never disrespected you.’ And he swung on me.”
According to the officer, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement has completed a preliminary investigation and will refer the case to the State Attorney’s Office for prosecution.
Nick Valencia News reached out to the Florida Department of Corrections for comment. As of publication, no response has been received.
Pattern of Abuse
The source has worked in corrections for more than two decades, including at a prison in South Florida before being recruited to Alligator Alcatraz. From day one, he said, the environment encouraged by Florida DOC supervisors amounted to “psychological torture.”
“Never have I seen a colonel or a major just simply walk around and bother folks for no reason,” he said of the verbal abuse on detainees by the DOC and its subcontractors.
While the details are new, the allegations fit a familiar pattern: detainees subjected to verbal abuse, intimidation, and emotional manipulation by staff. Previous reports have included accounts of physical assaults, such as “elbow strikes to the face,” which were corroborated by the whistleblower.
Despite reports of physical abuse—including the assault he experienced first hand—the officer said the most damaging thing he witnessed was the “psychological trauma” inflicted on detainees. Some things he had never seen or heard before in his nearly two decades in corrections.
“You’re talking about psychological warfare,” he said. “You’ve got officers telling [the detainees] to kill themselves. That ain’t right.”
He described guards becoming “too comfortable” antagonizing detainees.
When asked if the incidents were isolated, the source pushed back.
“No. It’s not just isolated—it’s everyday.”
Layers of Oversight, Few Safeguards
The whistleblower’s testimony highlights one of the central problems at Alligator Alcatraz: fractured chains of command. Multiple contractors and subcontractors—CRS, Crimson, Tiger Staffing, and others—supply officers to the site, creating a patchwork of authority.
The revolving leadership and shell games over who is truly in charge remain confusing, even to those giving and receiving orders.
We previously reported that CRS lost its operations contract, according to a source. However, it was in fact only a portion of their operations contract. The company is still in a leadership position, along with the DOC, according to the whistleblower and a second source.
“For the most part, CRS has been professional,” the whistleblower said of the company’s first line leadership. “But these subcontractors? They shouldn’t even be there. They’re not fit for the job. They can be very dangerous people.”
Despite the chaos, he insisted detainees’ basic physical needs—meals, showers, recreation—are being met.
“Living conditions are better than most prisons,” he said. “But the psychological trauma is real. The DOC folks are brutal and mean for no reason.”
Alligator Alcatraz, constructed on a remote Everglades airstrip, has been under scrutiny since its launch for alleged mismanagement, classification errors, and abusive practices. Questions mount over whether the site is winding down—or whether federal and state leaders are doubling down. The facility now reportedly houses fewer than 130 detainees as of Friday morning, according to a source familiar with the headcount.
The whistleblower’s account suggests something deeper: a culture of impunity that outlasts contracts, staffing changes, and facility names.
“If I could send a message to the world anonymously,” he said, “I’d tell them this: the Florida DOC officers out here at TNT need to be fired. They should not be supervising people in a jail. They can be very dangerous people.”