Bernalillo County jailers maced and beat Amanda Chavez while she did not appear to offer any resistance
KOB4 obtained a video Friday which showed Bernalillo County jailers macing, punching and kneeing Amanda Chavez during a search of her cell at the Metropolitan Detention Center. Chavez did not appear to offer any resistance.
Here is how KOB4 described what is seen on the video:
In the video, you see MDC guards enter Amanda Chavez's cell. They take her out and pat her down, though the reason for the search remains unknown.
The guards walk her to an area just outside her cell door as a guard does a sweep of her cell.
One guard takes her to the corner while the guard searching her cell steps out and begins talking to her. He then goes back into her cell.
When he comes back out, he has a garbage bag with some items in it. He places it on the ground.
Chavez appears to have her hands behind her back in the corner with the other guard still watching her.
But the guard who just emerged from her cell walks right up to her and maces her in the face.
At that point, Chavez reacts. A guard throws her to the ground and several more join in on top of her.
One of the guard appears to punch and knee her in the side several times.
After seeing the video last week, the Bernalillo County Sheriff placed seven jailers on paid leave. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department has declined all requests for information surrounding the brutalizing of Chavez.
Let’s suppose that Amanda spit on the jailers or called them motherfuckers, actions that would not be spotted on the video. Does that give those jailers the right to brutalize her? Not in this world!
Two years ago, Marlene Tapia sued the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department after she was pepper-sprayed repeatedly in her snatch by a Metropolitan Detention Center jailer because it concealed contraband.
That incident occurred in November 2011 when Tapia was brought to the Metropolitan Detention Center for violating her probation. Following her booking, a strip search revealed she was concealing contraband in her snatch. Jailer Blanca Zapatar then repeatedly pepper-sprayed Tapia’s snatch. A sergeant ordered the correctional officer two times to stop before grabbing the pepper spray away from her. The lawsuit said spraying her genitals would not have caused the baggie of dope to fall out.
Tapia’s lawsuit sais she suffered “severe pain that lasted for several weeks including burning, swollen genitals and painful urination.”
Zapatar was disciplined, but not fired.
It looks as though the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department has a habit of hiring a bunch of clowns as correctional officers.
2 comments:
The Sgt. probably just saved the county some money. He did his job correctly.
Sounds to me like the Sheriff has a serious internal problem at his jai.
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