COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Jailers in a central Ohio county regularly use stun guns to "soften up" inmates who pose no threat and often use the guns on inmates who are disabled, pregnant or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the Justice Department said in a federal complaint.
Franklin County jailers also use the guns to shock naked and restrained prisoners and to punish inmates for routine rule violations, according to the motion filed Wednesday in an ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit.
The complaint said jailers regularly put stun guns in a "drive stun" mode designed to cause continuous pain to someone resisting an officer.
"In case after case, deputies tase people, often in the drive stun mode to cause pain, when the person was greatly outnumbered by a team of deputies who were easily able to physically overpower and control the individual," the complaint said.
In other cases, jailers are accused of using the guns "to 'soften up' detainees and regularly applying tasers to individuals who do not pose any threat of violence or harm to themselves or others," according to the complaint.
The government wants to join a lawsuit against Franklin County brought last summer by a legal rights group on behalf of four current and former inmates. The county is home to the state's capital, Columbus.
The county prosecutor's office, which represents the jail, has previously asked U.S. District Court Judge Edmund Sargus to dismiss the claims, saying inmates failed to follow jail complaint procedures before filing the lawsuit. The prosecutor's office said in a statement that it was reviewing the Justice Department complaint and could not comment further.
The county has also argued that a video of the July 2009 arrest of one of the inmates, Robert Shreve, clearly shows a combative Shreve struggling with deputies and trying to bite one officer.
The group that originally brought the lawsuit, independent state agency Legal Rights Service, said video and written reports show that guards have improperly used stun guns several times since at least January 2008 "to inflict pain, fear, corporal punishment and humiliation" when inmates wouldn't obey commands or used profanity or insults.
Franklin County, Sheriff Jim Karnes, several deputies and jail supervisors are named in the lawsuit.
Like many jails and police agencies, Franklin County has rules governing when stun guns can be used.
The government's complaint says jail officials wrongly justify the misuse of stun guns after reviewing reports about their use.
The county also fails to properly train deputies in the use of the guns and fails to punish deputies whose use of the guns violates the jail's own written policies and "well-established standards of law enforcement."
Sargus gave the county two weeks to file objections to the request.
If this complaint is anywhere near true, than it is fucking disgusting that this kind of shit is even allowed to occur.
I thought we were supposed to live in a civilized society here. Tasers has be absolutely lethal if used improperly and it sounds like this facility doesn't bother training people in how to properly use them.
It's a miracle nobody has died from this kind of shit.
Instant Sunrise wrote:
I thought we were supposed to live in a civilized society here. Tasers has be absolutely lethal if used improperly and it sounds like this facility doesn't bother training people in how to properly use them.
It's a miracle nobody has died from this kind of shit.
I agree. I don't think they respect what Tasers are capable of. They're less than lethal, not non-lethal.
Instant Sunrise wrote:
If this complaint is anywhere near true, than it is fucking disgusting that this kind of shit is even allowed to occur.
Agreed. It makes no sense to apply this policy against prisoners that aren't resisting. Basically, it amounts to torture and if someone thinks they are going to be tortured then they might resort to more extreme actions to avoid capture.
I thought we were supposed to live in a civilized society here. Tasers has be absolutely lethal if used improperly and it sounds like this facility doesn't bother training people in how to properly use them.
It's a miracle nobody has died from this kind of shit.
Not really a miracle. A drive stun is a completely different operating mode of the taser. It's has a much smaller area of effect, like 1-2 inches. Basically, drive stun is purely pain compliance. While the other operating mode actually disrupts the muscles making them difficult next to impossible to control.
Also, all the jails I know of have access to medical facilities on site, and the prisoners aren't high on drugs which seems to be a fairly common theme when you review taser related deaths.
Why do tasers have the stun drive mode, if it's purely about pain? Tasers have been touted here as a way to disable someone who'd otherwise be shot, and I don't see how a 'compliance' mode ties in with that.
xt828 wrote:Why do tasers have the stun drive mode, if it's purely about pain? Tasers have been touted here as a way to disable someone who'd otherwise be shot, and I don't see how a 'compliance' mode ties in with that.
It's about options. If you're dealing with a very strong individual that won't allow you to put his arms behind his back then you need another option besides firing the probes at close range which can cause unacceptable tissue damage. At close range the entire probe can penetrate soft tissue instead of just the barb. Thus, you have the drive stun option. Which allows you to obtain compliance via pain. Sometimes that doesn't even work though...
Chaotic Neutral wrote:
Company X probably needed a gimmick because Company Y had a cheaper/better taser.
No, it's because more options for your officers means less chance of significant injury to the officer and the offender.
xt828 wrote:Why do tasers have the stun drive mode, if it's purely about pain? Tasers have been touted here as a way to disable someone who'd otherwise be shot, and I don't see how a 'compliance' mode ties in with that.
Because you only get one shot with the TASER darts and then you have to change the target. Also, like KS pointed out, at close range the darts have a number of problems. Basically it's so that if the TASER is in your hand when you're in arm's reach of the person you don't have to change weapons, or if you have no cartridge its still useable.
This case is about unacceptable behavior; the TASER really has nothing to do with it. You could basically substitute "Baton" or "Fist" or "Pepper Spray" in there anywhere and it would be equally wrong. (Well, except where it refers to "shocks" and such; then it would be "strikes" or "sprays")
I happen to live in Ohio for now, but not near Franklin County, so I can't say what's going on to condone this sort of behavior.
Shit like this is why I'm kind of glad it isn't legal to go around punching people in the crotch. You'd be able to track my movement from orbit from the sheer mass of idiots I'd leave lying on the ground clutching their privates in my wake. -- Mr. Coffee
Kamakazie Sith wrote:It's about options. If you're dealing with a very strong individual that won't allow you to put his arms behind his back then you need another option besides firing the probes at close range which can cause unacceptable tissue damage. At close range the entire probe can penetrate soft tissue instead of just the barb. Thus, you have the drive stun option. Which allows you to obtain compliance via pain.
Fair enough. I presume that the pre-taser option was getting some co-workers to help wrestle the person, with all the risks that entails?
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