Videos taken during a brutal night in the state’s only women’s prison last winter, prompting criminal charges against 10 correctional officers, have been posted for the first time.
The Attorney General’s office released 10 videos Wednesday evening, half of which were taken from portable cameras during violent cell extractions on Jan. 11 at the Edna Mahan Correctional Institution for Women in Clinton Township.
Among the images released on Wednesday, a portable video of the forced eviction of a prisoner shows five officers in full tactical gear lined up outside the cell, while a sixth other male officer tells the woman in the cell. inside to put his hands through the slot in the door to be handcuffed.
The inmate says “I have to pee” twice, to which the same officer shrugs and says “last call” before asking again and then spraying a canister of pepper spray through the door opening.
He calls the cell phone number and opens the door as the five other armed officers quickly enter.
The person taking the video stays in the hallway, so it is sometimes difficult to see in the melee of officers around the prisoner, who is sometimes pushed and pulled against the wall, as one officer repeatedly yells “stop.” resist â€.
The woman’s cough can be heard and her hands are raised in a way that seems to protect her face, at times.
One of the policemen shouts “she’s got me”, then the fight seems to get more violent, as a policeman hits the woman several times in the face and on the head.
The woman gets closer to the ground, at which point an officer then begins to knock down, still shouting “stop resisting”.
“Are you going to – hit me in the face like that?” The woman said between coughs, as officers drag her to a standing position, before leading her down the hall and lowering her into the medical area for a brief nurse assessment.
In another show of hands, an inmate in a bloodstained shirt, called “victim 1” by state prosecutors, sits on a bench in the medical area.
She asks the room full of five officers in tactical dress for handkerchiefs. No one responds, as she adds “You were just hitting me, I wasn’t even doing anything.”
Between a few cries, she said “Why the face?”
The remaining videos show more of the similar moments as officers in tactical gear quickly enter other women’s cells – at least six according to the Associated Press – over a period of several hours until early January 12.
In March, eight police officers were charged after prosecutors detailed that one detainee suffered a fractured eye socket while another suffered a concussion, resulting from the violent extractions of cells.
And by April, the number of officers facing charges arising from the same night had risen to 10.
As the investigation continues, Gov. Phil Murphy announced on June 7 that the state would permanently close the Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women in Clinton Township.
The governor referred to an independent report, which detailed the series of problems that led to the violent extractions of cells in which several inmates were seriously injured in January.
During the day, it was then announced that Corrections Commissioner Marcus Hicks was resigning, effective June 18.
