Restraint chair

Last updated
Guantanamo restraint chair Restraint chair used for enteral feeding -b.jpg
Guantanamo restraint chair

A restraint chair is a type of physical restraint that is used to force an individual to remain seated in one place to prevent injury and harm to themselves or others. [1] They are commonly used in prisons for violent inmates and hospitals for out of control patients. However, they have also been used to restrain prisoners at Guantanamo Bay detention camp during force-feeding.

Contents

In the United States, the use of these chairs is controversial because a number of deaths and injuries from prolonged periods have been reported. There have been numerous cases of financial settlements, as well as personal lawsuits and at least one class action suit. [2]

In Australia, the mere use of restraint chairs has sparked opposition. [3]

History

A man in the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum in 1869 Man in restraint chair; by H. Clarke; 1869 Wellcome L0019069.jpg
A man in the West Riding Pauper Lunatic Asylum in 1869

Various forms of restraint chair have been used for centuries. The modern, institutional type was introduced into the United States in the late 1990s.

Description

A typical, modern restraint chair consists of a sturdy frame, padded seat and padded reclining back, arm rests, a foot rest, and a set of back wheels. Straps secure the individual at the ankles, wrists, shoulders, and waist.

Organizations using restraint chairs

Restraint chairs are used in local jails as well as state and federal prisons. [4] They are used by the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and also in psychiatric hospitals and juvenile detention facilities.

Statistics

Numbers vary within the United States and across the world. An example of the number of times the chair was used is as follows:

Hazards

A review of deaths at United States county jails revealed that there have been nearly 40 restraint chair-related deaths since the late 1990s. [4] Prolonged periods in a restraint chair can cause blood clots.

Incidents

There have been numerous incidents associated with the improper use of restraint chairs involving injury, torture, and death. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Physical restraint</span> Obstruction of physical movement

Physical restraint refers to means of purposely limiting or obstructing the freedom of a person's bodily movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System</span> Transport agency of the US Department of Justice

The Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS), nicknamed "Con Air", is a United States Marshals Service airline charged with the transportation of persons in legal custody between prisons, detention centers, courthouses, and other locations. It is the largest prison transport network in the world. Though primarily used by the Federal Bureau of Prisons or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, JPATS also assists military and state law enforcement.

Medical restraints are physical restraints used during certain medical procedures to restrain patients with (supposedly) the minimum of discomfort and pain and to prevent them from injuring themselves or others.

Suicide watch is an intensive monitoring process used to ensure that any person cannot attempt suicide. Usually the term is used in reference to inmates or patients in a prison, hospital, psychiatric hospital or military base. People are placed on suicide watch when it is believed that they exhibit warning signs indicating that they may be at risk of committing bodily harm or purposefully killing themselves.

Lane McCotter is a controversial United States prison administrator, formerly in charge of the reconstruction of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sacramento County Sheriff's Office</span> Law enforcement agency in California

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office (SSO), is a local law enforcement agency that serves Sacramento County, California. It provides general-service law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Sacramento County, as well as incorporated cities within the county that have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services. Currently only Rancho Cordova and Isleton have such a contract with the department since the Citrus Heights and Elk Grove Police Departments assumed all police authority and responsibility for their communities in 2006. It also holds primary jurisdiction over facilities operated by Sacramento County, such as local parks, marinas, and government buildings; provide marshal service for the Sacramento County Superior Court; operate the Sacramento County Jail and the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove; and provide services such as laboratories and academy training to other law-enforcement agencies within and nearby Sacramento County. The county sheriff is currently Jim Cooper.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michigan State Prison</span> United States historic place

Michigan State Prison or Jackson State Prison, which opened in 1839, was the first prison in Michigan. After 150 years, the prison was divided, starting in 1988, into four distinct prisons, still in Jackson: the Parnall Correctional Facility which is a minimum-security prison; the G. Robert Cotton Correctional Facility where prisoners can finish their general education; the Charles Egeler Reception and Guidance Center which is the common point of processing for all male state prisoners sentenced to any Michigan prison; and the Cooper Street Correctional Facility which is the common point for processing of all male state prisoners about to discharge, parole, or enter a community center or the camp program.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denver Sheriff Department</span> Criminal justice agency in Denver, Colorado

The Denver Sheriff Department is a criminal justice agency based in Denver, Colorado, United States.

Bridgewater State Hospital, located in southeastern Massachusetts, is a state facility housing the criminally insane and those whose sanity is being evaluated for the criminal justice system. It was established in 1855 as an almshouse. It was then used as a workhouse for inmates with short sentences who worked the surrounding farmland. It was later rebuilt in the 1880s and again in 1974. As of January 6, 2020 there were 217 inmates in general population beds. The facility was the subject of the 1967 documentary Titicut Follies. Bridgewater State Hospital falls under the jurisdiction of the Massachusetts Department of Correction but its day to day operations is managed by Wellpath, a contracted vendor.

The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) is a law enforcement agency in Maricopa County, Arizona that was involved in a number of controversies. It is the largest sheriff's office in the state of Arizona and provides general and specialized law enforcement to unincorporated areas of Maricopa County, serving as the primary law enforcement for unincorporated areas of the county as well as incorporated cities within the county which have contracted with the agency for law-enforcement services. It also operates the county jail system. Elected in 2016, Paul Penzone is the current sheriff of Maricopa County. Penzone replaced Joe Arpaio after his 24-year tenure as sheriff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bordeaux Prison</span> Prison in Canada

The Bordeaux Prison, also known as the Montreal Detention Centre, is a provincial prison in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at 800 Gouin Boulevard West in the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville.

Natasha McKenna was a 37-year-old African-American woman who died in Fairfax County, Virginia while in police custody. The catalyst event, extraction from her cell and being tasered while shackled, was captured on the video of the Fairfax County jail.

A spit hood, spit mask, mesh hood or spit guard is a restraint device intended to prevent a person from spitting or biting. The use of the hoods has been controversial, as they are a potential suffocation risk.

Edson Da Costa was a 25-year-old Black Portuguese man who died on 21 June 2017 after being stopped by police on 15 June in Beckton, London. The unclear circumstances of his death led to protests. In June 2019, an inquest jury found that Da Costa died by misadventure from the consequences of a cardiorespiratory arrest after he placed in his mouth a plastic bag containing 88 wraps of class A drugs. The coroner ruled that there was no "legal or factual basis" for a conclusion that could be critical of the police. An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct concluded that the restraint by officers was necessary and proportionate.

Ernst Karl was an Austrian police officer who was convicted of murdering two burglars. While in prison, he also killed a convicted murderer and from then on he was designated as one of Austria's most dangerous offenders. In 2001, he died under controversial circumstances in a bed equipped with medical restraints in Stein Prison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I can't breathe</span> Human rights slogan

"I can't breathe" is a slogan associated with the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The phrase originates from the last words of Eric Garner, an unarmed man who was killed in 2014 after being put in a chokehold by a New York City Police Officer. A number of other Black Americans, such as Javier Ambler, Manuel Ellis, Elijah McClain, and George Floyd, have said the same phrase prior to dying during similar law-enforcement encounters. According to a 2020 report by The New York Times, the phrase has been used by over 70 people who died in police custody.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Manuel Ellis</span> Homicide of a man while being arrested

Manuel Ellis was a 33-year-old African American man who was killed by police during an arrest on March 3, 2020, in Tacoma, Washington by the Tacoma Police Department. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department initially claimed that Ellis had attacked a police car and officers, leading to the arrest. State prosecutors quoted civilian witnesses as saying that Ellis did not attack the police car or officers; they also said it was the officers who attacked Ellis after a conversation. Video of the incident showed officers repeatedly punching Ellis, choking him, using a Taser, and kneeling on him. State prosecutors stated that "Ellis was not fighting back", citing witness statements and video evidence. A police radio recording showed that Ellis said he "can’t breathe". Ellis told officers "can't breathe, sir" multiple times, according to prosecutors. Ellis was hogtied, face-down, with an officer on him, for at least six minutes, and a spit hood was placed on his head in this position, stated prosecutors. Ellis died at the scene while receiving medical aid from paramedics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Daniel Prude</span> Death of a Black man in Rochester Police custody

On March 23, 2020, Daniel Prude, a 41-year-old African-American man, died after being physically restrained by Rochester, New York police officers. Prude had been suffering from a mental health episode after ingesting PCP and was walking naked in the city's streets. The officers put a spit hood over his head after he began spitting. They restrained him face-down on the street for two minutes and fifteen seconds, and he stopped breathing. Prude received CPR on the scene and later died of complications from asphyxia after being taken off life support.

Marvin David Scott III was an African American man who died on March 14, 2021, in police custody at a correctional facility in McKinney, Texas, United States. The Texas Ranger Division is conducting an independent criminal investigation of the incident. Seven law enforcement officers were placed on administrative leave.

Jerod Draper was a 40-year old American father from Georgetown, Indiana who died in custody of Harrison County Jail in 2018. Draper had ingested methamphetamine prior to his arrest for fleeing a traffic stop. While incarcerated, Draper become showing symptoms of a methamphetamine overdose. Guards stripped him naked and placed him in a medical isolation cell. When his condition worsened, he was placed in a restraint chair where guard Sgt. Matt Hulsey and jail nurse Michael Gregory tased him seven times in 15 minutes, stepped on his bare feet, and applied pain compliance techniques.

References

  1. "The Restraint Chair: Safe and Humane?". Prison Legal News.
  2. 1 2 Estep, Tyler (30 August 2013). "Class action suit challenging 'restraint chair' use at jail".
  3. Davidson, Helen (26 July 2016). "The story of the chair: how a brutal device was brought into Australia's youth jails". The Guardian.
  4. 1 2 "Controversial restraint chair linked to jail deaths". USA Today .
  5. Minor, Tarik (13 September 2016). "How often does JSO use restraint chair for inmates?".
  6. 1 2 "Tennessee: Video Shows Officers Tasering Teen in Restraint Chair". Democracy Now! .
  7. "Deputies accused of stunning man more than 40 times on leave".
  8. "Cheatham Jail Officers On Leave After Man Restrained, Tased". 28 July 2017.
  9. "SLO County to pay $5 million settlement for inmate's death after 46 hours in restraint chair".
  10. "Oklahoma Sheriff Indicted After Prisoner Dies in Restraint Chair". Democracy Now! .
  11. Balko, Radley (11 January 2012). "Death In The Devil's Chair: Florida Man's Pepper Spray Death Raises Questions About Jail Abuse" via Huff Post.
  12. "Video Shows Deputies Stun-Gunning Man in Restraint Chair". 12 October 2015.
  13. Hunter, Fergus (27 July 2016). "Malcolm Turnbull calls royal commission into youth abuse at Northern Territory's Don Dale detention centre". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 28 July 2016.