Sheriff Defends Stripping Tactics To Quell Riots

[951-Riverside]

On a side note an African American Immate interviewed 2 weeks ago on KTLA said they only use this practice on African American immates while the white & hispanic immates keep their clothing, beds, etc.

(CBS) LOS ANGELES Jailers took away the clothes of about 100 inmates Feb. 9 in an attempt to quell racial violence at the Pitchess Detention Center in Castaic.

Sheriff Chief Sam Jones’ decided to force inmates to spend much of that Thursday without clothes or mattresses, to cover themselves only with blankets.

According to Jones, taking away the clothing can prevent inmates from hiding homemade weapons and prevent inmates from using clothing as weapons.

Sheriff Lee Baca said Friday that he supported the move, as long as it was over a short term. He said keeping inmates naked was at the "outer edge of our core values" but was done to save lives.

Edited:
http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_049122603.html

[ret5hd]

1. "using clothing as weapons"...

"Stand back...I've got a shirt!"

how f'in ridiculous.

[Kagemusha]

2. If the shirt's around your neck it might not be so ridiculous.

That said, I agree with the above statement that this is at the outer bounds and it damn well better have been done for good reason.

[dsc]

3. Take your shirt off and go behind someone

now wrap the shirt around the person's neck and pull as tight as you can.

[uncle ray]

10. might as well cut off their hands while they're at it.

:eyes:

[dsc]

14. that is a tad bit different

They have had an incredible number of problems with riots as of late. I would rather be naked than dead.

[rocktivity]

16. It's your ARMS that allow you to strangle someone, not your shirt

Maybe it's those that should be removed.

:eyes:
rocknation

[dysfunctional press]

20. and don't forget- "piss shirt bend bars..."

from a jackie chan movie- and i'm not trying to imply that they would try to escape that way- modern jail bars are much different anyway. i only use the reference to point out the strength of wet cloth as a garrot.

[philosophie_en_rose]

7. You can strangle someone with a shirt.

I disagree with stripping as punishment, but if it's a temporary safety measure, I suppose I can understand the argument. Whether it's actually necessary (and there are no alternatives) is up for debate.

[reality based]

9. And with a blanket n/t

[philosophie_en_rose]

12. True.

:shrug:

I guess it would be harder to do it with a huge blanket though. If the blankets were hard to rip, I don't think they'd be used for strangling. Probably smothering.

Same results though.

[951-Riverside]

19. Ever heard of a blanket party? n/t

[Thor_MN]

27. I'm not saying it's right, but a naked guy is less inclined to fight

He's got too much of his most valuable posessions hanging in the breeze. Hard to fight while you are holding a blanket around you. OTOH, it would be a lot easier to hide a weapon under a blanket than clothing.

A bar of soap or anything of similar size and weight makes a decent club when swung inside a shirt.

My guess is there are many issues that could be fairly easily resolved at the prison which would remove the reasons for rioting.

[shanti]

23. that's what they said at abu ghraib

:(

[saigon68]

29. Like this

Look at the "DEFENDER OF FREEDOM" with the stick

[rman]

28. whites & hispanics can't, apparently. nt

[KarenS]

4. Dehumanizing & demoralizing is what it is,,,,

What the hell kind of country are we turning into???

ummmmm.... nevermind, I know.

:cry:

[NVMojo]

5. just like Abu, what does this say about the US mentality?

[MADem]

6. That headline could have been written by SCALIA!!!

"Sheriff Defends Stripping Tactics To Quell Riots"

The first image that came to my mind was the po-lice deploying a bunch of pole dancers (as opposed to the usual dogs, tear gas and riot squads) in the midst of a rioting group, which promptly stops banging and trashing, and instead decides to watch the dancers!!!! I imagined it like a Gene Wilder/Richard Pryor film evolution....!!!

Remember how Scalia made that speech about orgies quelling societal tensions????

[lovuian]

8. they marched the Jews into the furnaces naked

its dehumanizing...

[shance]

11. ONLY USE THIS ON AFRICAN AMERICAN INMATES?

Does someone see a sizable as in huge lawsuit here?

[philosophie_en_rose]

13. I missed that part.

If it's true, then I do see a potential lawsuit.

[951-Riverside]

15. Its gets even worst

When a deligation visited the jail they were only allowed to visit the white & hispanic immates I forgot which station reported this.

[Vidar]

17. Ah yes, torture on the home front.

[HuffleClaw]

18. i'm pretty sure this is illegal

cruel and unusual punishment. and the bit about it only being used on the black inmates?! thats deserving of a federal civil rights investigation for sure.

[dysfunctional press]

21. i find new reasons every day for being glad i was born white in America-

and new reasons to be ashamed of it, too.

[shanti]

22. THINK ABU GHRAIB

:grr: :mad:

i'm sending this to barbara boxer!!

[Texacrat]

24. This is a major civil rights violation

Maybe the sheriff needs to be on the other side of the bars.

[0007]

25. Would a jock strap would be considered a highly prized

weapon?

[depakid]

26. When you look at the other links on the site

it's pretty clear that there's been MAJOR problem going on. I didn't see anything about the racism angle- but the whole situation looks like one where some rather drastic measures may be required.

Note- I don't say thia lightly- but people are getting maimed and killed in that facility, and the corrections officers are having to shoot sting balls and gas everyone to break things up.

Under the circumstances, it sounds to me like this is a reasonable short term response.

[tinymontgomery]

30. Shirts don't kill people, people kill people

I mean if we can say that about guns then why not shirts!

[William Bloode]

31. Not a bad idea.

Really, i think so. This is coming from someone who has spent several years in prison. Most times they would just mace us down, and send in the goon squad to beat the shit outta us. Also spare me the indignity line as well. This is prison, you have to shower, shit, and shave right next to others. You are often subject to strip searches in front of guards, and other inmates. So being a nekkid a bit longer ain't gonna kill'em, their dignity is already gone.

Now on the the racism angle. I am not privy to all info, but maybe it was the blacks that were the primary cause of trouble. Most groups in prison segregate themselves pretty well, and you often can blame certain things on specific groups and be right. Now with that being said, if is just being done to blacks because of racism/discrimination thats just wrong of course.

Prison is an extreme place, and sometimes you have to use extreme measures to control the populace.

[Thor_MN]

33. Most people are going right to "Naked" in talking about this

I'm replying to your post since it seemed the most rational, I'm thinking that maybe I don't need asbestos underwear here.

What I read was they got a blanket to cover up with. So they are able to cover up with something - something that makes it damn inconvienent to fight in. Maybe pants that are about 5" too big in the waist and no belts would alay the fears of those with issues about nudity. Nothing takes the fight out of a guy more than taking his pants away, or having them drop around his ankles. Too much baggage in the breeze and instant Mutually Assured Destruction.

I'm thinking that the idea is to suppress the fighting, not to humilate the inmates. They aren't being hooded, covered in feces and posed buck naked for pictures. Like you said, you check your dignity at the door on the way in.

[Robb]

32. If years of watching COPS has taught me anything

...it's that right before a fight, the shirt comes off...

Notably not the pants, though.