Warden Responds to Criticism of Allegheny County Prison Use of Force Training and Weapons Contracts

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Following legal threats and mounting backlash on social media, the top official at Allegheny County Prison is defending recent measures to provide new use of force and weapons training to prison officers in the Allegheny County. ‘establishment.

These are agreements with two contractors: Corrections Special Application Unit (C-SAU) for use-of-force training and Lightfield Less Lethal Research for the supply of flashbangs, rubber bullets and other projectiles.

Warden Orlando Harper argued on Wednesday that the guns could help correctional officers keep control of situations where an incarcerated person becomes violent.

Our correctional staff are already working under extraordinary circumstances, but a lack of tools and resources will jeopardize their safety and well-being, Harper said in a statement, lamenting the ban on using the restraint chair.

The restraint chair was an important tool that was used to prevent individuals from self-harm or to restrain unstable inmates, he said.

C-SAU has been criticized for implementing training tactics that emphasize the use of force. Several members of the supervisory board called the contractors at their August meeting.

Is your plan to use shotguns and beanbag projectiles to defuse? Do you defuse with weapons? asked Bethany Hallam, general councilor for Allegheny County.

Harper dismissed those concerns on Wednesday.

The property does not use pepper spray, beanbag projectiles or dogs to name a few. The training provided is very specific to the needs of the Allegheny County Jail, he said. The county has not further described these needs.

The non-competitive contracts total $ 442,700 and were approved by the prison last month. Harper said at the August supervisory board meeting that the contracts will help the prison maintain control without the use of a “restraint chair” or solitary confinement.

A referendum passed by voters in the spring largely banned solitary confinement, as well as the use of restraint chairs and leg shackles.

The Abolitionist Law Center has threatened legal action against the county and Lightfield if injuries result from less lethal weapons. The company is asking the county to cancel the contracts.

Harper said the training will help deal with mental health crises within the prison.

As the warden of this prison, it is my responsibility to administer policies, programs and staff operations, but the job is much more complex than that. Ultimately, the safety and health of inmates and staff is my responsibility, Harper said.

Use of force

Harper also refuted concerns Wednesday that the training would increase the use of force against inmates. He said the prison uses a tiered response system that relies first on supervisory staff, then medical and mental health staff before a C-SAU team is called in.

If, and only if, all other de-escalation options have failed, the team formed by the C-SAU prisons will have the option of using force to withdraw an inmate from one location or move him to another location as such. ‘is currently the case in our prison and in correctional facilities across the country, the statement read.

Our hope and goal remains that we never use force against anyone in prison, Harper said. Unfortunately, experience tells us that this is simply not the reality in a correctional facility.

But cell extractions, when prison officers forcibly remove inmates from their cells, are not the only case where force is used at Allegheny County Jail.

Data from the Pennsylvania Corrections Department shows that the Allegheny County Jail surpassed all other detentions in the county in use of force incidents last year. In 2020, the prison reported 585 use of force incidents. In 2019, the establishment reported 720.

Jaclyn Kurin, a lawyer with the Abolitionist Law Center, said Harpers’ statements on Wednesday prompted the firm to investigate further the prisons contract with C-SAU.

She expressed particular concern at the emphasis placed by Joseph Garcia, the “senior team leader” of C-SAU, on the use of force.

“Correctional expert assessments, multiple lawsuits against Gracias ‘training practices, and Garcias’ own statements reveal that he teaches officers to use excessive force on people with psychiatric disorders, not de-escalation skills,” which is the correctional standard, ”she said.

The York Daily Record reported accusations of humiliation and physical threats against inmates during an incident with the contractor.

Why Harper, who ran a prison with the worst use of force record of the 67 state prisons in Pennsylvania and faces multiple excessive force lawsuits, enlisted Garcia to train his officers to the ACJ, while he [are] “real” correctional experts, who are better qualified to implement correctional reforms like those adopted in the referendum? she asked.

Based on confessions from Harper and Allegheny counties about Garcia’s background and his excessive force training, the ALC is currently investigating complaints against the county for conspiring to violate the civil rights of incarcerated people. at the ACJ.

History of entrepreneurs

The C-SAU training, which Harper says is already underway, has drawn strong criticism from other communities where the training has been used. The York Daily Record reported earlier this week that Garcia had served time in a British prison while in the US Air Force.

Garcia, YDR reports, was convicted of conspiracy to commit bodily harm in 1989.

But Harper said C-SAU and Garcia had been carefully vetted.

“These exams include checks by the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the statement read. law enforcement and 14 correctional departments in 35 states. It has also been vetted, gained access and provided training in seven other countries, including England.

Harper’s statements come the day before the monthly Prison Supervisory Board meeting. Prison administrators are due to present their plans on Thursday to implement new policies consistent with the referendum.

The prison must be in compliance with the referendum by December.

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