Dramatic CCTV video shows prison officers beating inmates in WA jails

Stark footage of WA prison staff using excessive force on inmates has been released by the Corruption and Crime Commission (CCC) as part of a damning series of reports about serious misconduct in prisons.The CCC said unreasonable force was used against prisoners in several incidents at jails in 2016 and 2017.

Dramatic vision from three such incidents has been released, two of them involving the use of chemical agents on prisoners at Eastern Goldfields prison in 2017.

Capsicum spray used on inmates In the first, on May 4, a guard was dealing with a 51-year-old minimum security prisoner who took hold of a door handle and would not let go.Within nine seconds of the prisoner holding the door handle, the officer “requested chemical agent from his colleague” and used it almost immediately.

The Commission said the use of the capsicum spray was not in line with Department of Justice policies and there was an “unacceptable risk of hydraulic eye damage”.The officer had placed his colleagues at risk, the CCC said, although evidence from other officers suggested the prisoner presented no threat.The officer’s own report did not explain why he deployed the agent.

Source: Dramatic CCTV video shows prison officers beating inmates in WA jails – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)