Leaked Videos Show Brutal Treatment of Prisoners with Mental Illness

Leaked Videos Show Brutal Treatment of Prisoners with Mental Illness

by Lisa Dawson

A still of the troubling footage captures Denver City Jail corrections officers using excessive force to restrain Moreno, who posed no indication of discernible threat (Photo: The Colorado Independent).

Recently leaked videos show corrections officers using extreme force on incarcerated people suffering from various forms of mental illness.

Attack on a Suicidal Man at Denver City Jail

Footage of one such leaked video (shown below), taken in September of last year and later obtained by The Colorado Independent, shows a team of corrections officers using force on Isaiah Moreno, who was incarcerated at Denver City Jail and placed on suicide watch.

The graphic video shows Moreno repeatedly slamming his head against a concrete wall and pacing in his isolation cell.  A team of officers toting restraint equipment is seen assembling outside his cell door – seemingly to stop him from harming himself – where they remain for several minutes as the man continues to bang his head into his cell wall. According to The Colorado Independent:

At one point, after an officer had asked him to stop hitting his head and Moreno responded, “I don’t give a fuck. No. Fuck you.” Moreno sat on the concrete bench that serves as a bed. Eight officers then entered the cell – two with taser guns pointed at him, even though he posed no visible sign of threat. Two of the officers tasered him with electroshocks before he slumped onto the floor. Officers strapped him into a restraint chair and then left him alone in the cell . . . .

The footage of Moreno’s self-harm and of officers’ attack on him was obtained through a public records request. The Colorado Independent edited the 40-minute video to splice out nudity when Moreno was forced to remove his clothing and change into an anti-suicide gown, also known as a “turtle suit.” The smocks are protocol for suicidal inmates so they don’t hang or strangle themselves with their clothing. The gown given to Moreno was far too small for him. Several times in the video, it becomes unfastened, he refastens it and it becomes unfastened again.

According to the story, the incident took place just days following former Denver Sheriff Gary Wilson, who was demoted by the city's mayor, Michael Hancock, for "excessive force problems." As reported by The Colorado Independent:

An investigation by Denver’s Internal Affairs Bureau determined that Sergeant Ned St. Germain – who has worked in the department since 1983 — broke the city’s use of force policies when he directly ordered the two deputies, Luke Swarr and Frank Romero, to taser Moreno in the Sept. 26, 2013, attack.

“Sergeant St. Germain gave the order when the inmate was not physically resisting at the time or immediately before the order was given. Moreover, he was not posing a threat to himself or others,” reads St. Germain’s discipline report.

“Simply stated, there was no need to use the taser to gain compliance . . . .”

St. Germain and his deputies had plenty of time to observe Moreno and assess his threat level. Electroshocking a vulnerable, mentally ill man smacks of a certain savagery that shocks the conscience of several people who have viewed the footage. . . .

Hancock promised reform on Monday when he demoted Wilson and announced a national search for a new sheriff to “change the culture” in the department. Still, the mayor’s message was mixed. In announcing Wilson’s ouster, Hancock praised him as a great leader and said, “Unfortunately, the department let him down.”

The story goes on to detail the remarks of both Sgt. St. Germain and officials regarding St. Germain's conduct:

In a meeting with then-Sheriff Wilson and other top department officials in April, Sgt. St. Germain described the Moreno attack as “a good situation” that was “cut and dry” because, he said, Moreno was cursing at officers, threatening to fight and not responding to orders. He cited Moreno’s “internal anger” as a danger to the staff. He described the incident as “a very successful placement in the chair.”

“I thought it went very well,” he told his superiors. “I would have done this exact same thing again.”

In his disciplinary report, officials wrote, “The Department has great concern regarding your ability to act responsibly and to conduct yourself appropriately while on duty.”

They added: “Your conduct has compromised the mission of the Department.”

Officials punished St. Germain for his misconduct with an unpaid 10-day suspension without pay. He is appealing the disciplinary action. Read more of this post

Lisa Dawson