6 Female Officers Arrested Over NYC Jail Strip Searches
Six female correction officers have been arrested amid allegations that women endured invasive body cavity and strip searches when they tried to visit loved ones in jail, horror stories that were unearthed in a series of I-Team reports.
The half-dozen suspects are accused of illegal searches at the Manhattan Detention Complex and were arraigned on charges including official misconduct, unlawful imprisonment and conspiracy early Monday afternoon.
According to court documents, the correction officers routinely unlawfully strip-searched female visitors, including forcing them to remove their pants and underwear, touching their breasts and examining their genital areas. Four of the officers allegedly filed false paperwork to justify the illegal searches, prosecutors say. Ultimately, three visitors were arrested on the basis of charges stemming from those unlawful searches, prosecutors said.
In a statement, Correction Officers' Benevolent Association President Elias Husamudeen said officers assigned to the visitors' area at the Manhattan facility arrested more than 50 guests last year alone for allegedly trying to smuggling in drugs, razors and other contraband.
"Every day they do everything they can to keep this jail safe for visitors, inmates and correction staff," Husamudeen said. "They deserve more public support for the diligent professionalism they exude every day."
The I-Team has been reporting on illegal strip search complaints in city jails for years. Last summer, three women filed notices of claim against the Department of Correction, claiming they were sexually abused by correction officers during visits to see inmates in recent months.
One woman described being touched inappropriately and threatend that child welfare authorities would be called to take her kids away if she complained.
In February 2018, the I-Team interviewed two other women who said they had been improperly searched in bathrooms on Rikers. At the time, the DOC claimed that bathrooms had been used because of “space limitations,” but promised the practice had been stopped.
A DOC spokesman said that since February, the DOC has received 32 complaints or allegations of improper searches from visitors. Of the 32, 13 are being investigated by the city's Department of Investigation to see if criminal charges are warranted. The remainder are currently under review with DOC’s investigation division.
Since 2016, the I-Team has reported on multiple claims of female visitors that they were sexually abused during jail visits, in direct contradiction to DOC’s stated policy. In December 2016, the Department of Investigation sent a letter to DOC making sweeping recommendations to the department on improving visitor procedures. It wasn’t until June 2018 that DOC updated its policy directive.
In a statement then to the I-Team, Commissioner Cynthia Brann said, “We have worked hard to improve the visit process by implementing recommendations from the Department of Investigation, such as increased camera coverage of search areas, re-training officers in search protocols and updating our directive to clarify guidelines on pat-frisk procedures. All allegations of improper searches are immediately reviewed by DOC’s Investigation Division and DOI.”
Attorney Alan Figman, who represents nearly 40 women who have made accusations of sex abuse, said it’s clear the guidelines are not being put into practice.
“I look at DOC as a department that is totally out of control. The only way to achieve any sort of regulation is to bring in federal monitors,” he said.
Photo Credit: News 4
from NBC New York - Top Stories http://bit.ly/2DRWH94
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