Jail Officials Revise Policy on Use of Force

Orange County Jail officials have quietly revised their policy on use of force by guards, requiring quicker and more comprehensive reports of incidents involving inmates.

The changes, which surfaced at a hearing Tuesday on a lawsuit challenging jail procedures, went into effect Friday by order of A.R. Massuci, jail commander

In court papers filed by lawyers for Sheriff Brad Gates, the revisions are described as creating “a comprehensive mechanism for the immediate evaluation of ‘use of force’ incidents.”

‘More Structured System’

“These changes simply create a more structured system in which incidents are reported more quickly and reviewed more thoroughly,” said Eric L. Dobberteen, the county’s lawyer.

Dobberteen said the new policy had nothing to do with the lawsuit. The case alleges that guards routinely use excessive force in dealing with inmates, and seeks court orders that would restrict the use of force by the jail administration and money damages for five inmates who filed the lawsuit.

Several recent reports on violence in the jail were the basis for the changes, Dobberteen said. Action by jail officials in those incidents was, in general, in keeping with the previous policy.

Attorney Richard Herman, who filed the lawsuit along with parallel litigation that has forced court-ordered reforms in other areas of jail operations, such as reductions in overcrowding, discounted the new procedures.

“As far as I’m concerned these are cosmetic changes made to impress the judge,” Herman said.

While Herman applauded one requirement--that guards file reports on any incidents involving force by the end of a typical eight-hour shift--he said policy exceptions destroy its effectiveness.

“The new policy is not significant enough to settle the lawsuit because the loopholes they’ve written themselves are too big,” Herman said. The rules require guards to notify supervisors before engaging in force, but a later clause allows unspecified exceptions, Herman said.

The rules call for immediate inquiries by supervisory personnel, notification of medical services employees and quick reports to the jail administration. According to the papers in connection with the lawsuit, the policy is designed to “assure that complete and appropriate information is available to the facility commander well within 24 hours of the incident.”

In two separate reports earlier this year, penal experts studied incidents of force in jail operations and concluded that, at most, a tiny percentage might involve excessive force. In one study, consultants studied 900 incidents involving allegations of excessive force and concluded that only 17 might be justified. In another, none of 30 allegations of guard brutality could be corroborated.

Dobberteen said the policy revision was a matter of “refining existing policy to make it a little bit better.”