ACLU Sues Colorado County Sheriff Over Excessive Use of Restraint Board

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 21, 1998

COLORADO SPRINGS -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado today filed a class action lawsuit in federal court to challenge the ongoing practice of strapping prisoners to a device known as a "restraint board" at the El Paso County Jail here.

The board is a full-body restraint designed for short-term use on inmates who are out of control and pose an imminent danger to themselves or others. Inmates are tied face down to the board at the ankles, thighs, pelvis, wrists, upper arms and chest. The inmate's head is turned to one side, and two additional straps hold it firmly against the board. Movement is impossible.

The lawsuit comes just two weeks after the death of inmate Michael Lewis, who died on February 7 shortly after spending several hours strapped to the board, his second time on the board that day.

The lawsuit alleges that several hundred inmates have been strapped to the board in the last few years, some for as long as 12 hours. In contrast, the Denver County Jail, with more than twice as many inmates, uses a full-body restraint device only about ten times a year.

According to the suit, the jail uses the board far too frequently, without appropriate supervision by medical personnel, in situations where its use or the duration of its use is excessive and unnecessary, and in a manner that is malicious and cruel. According to the ACLU, it is the routine practice of the Sheriff's Department to deny inmates permission to use a bathroom while they are on the board. "Inmates are forced to urinate or defecate in their clothes while enduring taunts and ridicule from deputies," the lawsuit alleges.

"Full body restraints, including the board, have a legitimate use in extreme situations where an inmate is having a psychotic break and is actively suicidal or poses an imminent threat to life or safety," said Bruce Sattler of Faegre & Benson who is serving as an ACLU cooperating attorney on the case.

"They must be used under close medical supervision, should be used only when less drastic measures will not work, and should be discontinued as soon as possible," Sattler said. "That is not what is going on in the El Paso County Jail."

According to the suit, the written policy authorizes use of the restraint board for such common jail occurrences as "noncompliance" or "physical resistance," even if the resistance is only minimal or momentary. The suit alleges that inmates are placed on the board for "mouthing off" or banging and kicking on their cell doors.

"Too many inmates have been strapped to this board for too long a period of time without good reason and without appropriate medical supervision," said Mark Silverstein, ACLU of Colorado Legal Director.

"Contrary to the jail's own written policy and accepted correctional standards, the board is in fact used for punishment," Silverstein said. "Forcing inmates to urinate on themselves and then laughing at them is degrading, humiliating, sadistic, malicious, and cruel."

The lawsuit alleges that the restraint board is a terrifying experience that causes panic, psychic pain, mental distress, and physical injuries. "Prisoners should not be forced to submit to this degrading, humiliating, and dehumanizing ordeal unless full-body restraint is clearly necessary to protect human life or safety," Silverstein said.

Although the lawsuit criticizes the Sheriff's written policy as well as the manner in which it is implemented, the Sheriff continues to defend both. After the inmate's death two weeks ago, a spokesperson said that the Sheriff's Department had "absolute confidence in the policy and how deputies implement that policy."

The suit was filed as a class action on behalf of all current and future inmates in the jail. The named plaintiffs are two women and six men, including one juvenile, who are currently in custody at the jail. All have been placed on the restraint board in the past, some of them on multiple occasions.

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[posted July 3, 1998]