Special Jail Chairs Are Models of Restraint

When a jail inmate in Ventura County gets the chair, it doesn’t mean the end.

Five years ago, after abolishing hogtying as a way to subdue out-of-control prisoners, sheriff’s officials purchased restraint chairs for jails in Ojai, Ventura and Santa Paula.

The chairs are narrow and high-backed, with locking safety belts that cross a person’s chest like an X, built-in leg shackles and wrist restraints. The backs are permanently reclined at a 45-degree angle.

“The purpose of the chair is to keep an inmate from hurting himself or staff or other inmates,” said Cmdr. Mark Ball, a jail administrator.

The chairs are on wheels and can be rolled anywhere in the jail, Ball said. The average sit is about three hours, or as long as it takes for an inmate to calm down, Ball said.

The chair is used about twice a week at the pretrial detention facility in Ventura, where up to 100 people a day are booked into jail, Ball said.

The chairs at the other jails get wheeled out a couple of times a year.

Jail deputies don’t carry guns because an inmate could grab the weapon and take over a facility, Ball said. So the chair is one of the resources deputies have to stop violence.

“Nobody wants to be put in the chair because it limits their mobility,” Ball said. “Unfortunately, there are individuals who come here under the influence of drugs, alcohol and feel love, hate and a range of emotions,” Ball said.

Since the chairs were bought in 1994, two former inmates have filed lawsuits, saying their time in the recliners was cruel and unusual punishment.

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A determined security guard helped Oxnard police arrest a man on suspicion of stealing Disney videos worth $54 from a market recently.

Police say Cesar Cruz, 34, snatched three hot-selling animations from a Lucky store on Hemlock Street and hopped into a waiting pickup truck, with the security guard holding onto him. The driver sped off with Cruz and the guard locked in a struggle in the truck’s cab, said Oxnard Police Sgt. Tim Combs.

A few blocks from the market, the truck broadsided a car, injuring a passenger, Combs said.

The truck sped off, and two blocks later the driver lost control, ran it up onto a curb and stopped.

The driver fled, but the security guard took Cruz into custody, Combs said.

Cruz, a parolee, was being held without bail, Combs said. The female driver of the truck is known only as Jessica.

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A restaurant bandit known for shaking hands with his victims before robbing them is now in jail, police said.

For several months police had been on the lookout for the well-mannered bandit, who robbed a string of eateries in several Southland cities, including an El Torito in Simi Valley.

In that case and others, the bandit greeted the manager and said he was there to rob the place.

Sometimes, the thief would start the holdup by asking for a job application, police said.

In some of the robberies, large sums of cash were stolen from safes in managers’ offices, and a gun was used in some cases, police said.

Luis Reynaldo Cortez, 22, was apprehended in Upland recently after employees at an El Torito there called police after recognizing him from a suspect sketch that had been circulated throughout the restaurant chain, police said.

The sketch was drawn by a Simi Valley police artist based on a description provided by restaurant employees who had been robbed.

“It’s my understanding that the artist rendering from our case helped quite a bit,” Simi Police Det. Jay Carrott said.

Cortez and William Robert Dorsey, 22, were taken into custody after leading police on a chase along Interstate 10 that reached speeds of more than 95 mph, said Upland Police Lt. Ed Gray.

“They were throwing money out of the window as we were chasing them,” Gray said.

Freeway gridlock forced the suspects to stop in Pomona about 10 miles away, Gray said.

Both men were charged with robbery in Upland. Cortez was also charged with a robbery in Ontario, and charges will be filed against him in Simi Valley, Los Angeles, Valencia and Brea, police said.

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A kindergartner who saved his infant brother from drowning in a lake will be honored this week by Camarillo police as a Citizen of the Month.

Austin Shirley, 6, will become the youngest recipient of the award, which was created last year to recognize heroic acts as well as residents who go the extra step to help police solve crimes.

On the day of the rescue in late May, Austin disobeyed his mother’s orders to get dressed for school and instead went to the backyard of his family’s Lakeside Village home to play with his brother.

Austin heard his 18-month-old brother, Cameron, yell for help. Cameron had climbed over the low back fence and slipped into the man-made lake while trying to retrieve an oar floating in the water, Austin said.

Cameron was close to the shore, so Austin waded in and pulled his brother to safety.

If he had needed to dive in and swim, Austin said he could have done so because he has been taking water safety classes since he was a year old.

“For someone who is 6 years old, what he did is pretty mature and quick-thinking,” said Sheriff’s Senior Deputy Jim Aguirre.

Mayor Kevin Kildee will present Austin with a plaque during a 10 a.m. ceremony Wednesday at the police station, 3701 E. Los Posas Road.

Austin can add it to his collection.

County firefighters have already presented Austin with a firefighter’s helmet for his bravery.

Not bad for a guy who hasn’t reached first grade.

Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at holly.wolcott@latimes.com.