Letter to the editor: Allegheny County Jail needs a restraint chair
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The Allegheny County Jail is the only jail in Pennsylvania where a restraint chair is not being used because of a 2021 referendum.
The restraint chair allows officers to transport residents without injury to the resident or to the officers. Currently, for residents needing to be transported, officers have to physically hold a resident while carrying the resident, risking injury to both the resident and the officers, if the resident is actively resisting by kicking, hitting or even biting during the transport. Officers putting their hands on a resident and holding a resident for an extended period of time violates the physical boundaries of the resident much more than a resident sitting in a chair being restrained and transported.
If a resident is appearing to need a medical evaluation but is resisting, without the restraint chair, jail health care employees and correctional officers have told me residents will just not be examined.
The purpose of using the restraint chair is to avoid injury and provide needed medical care, not for punishment.
As with most interventions, it can be used appropriately or inappropriately. Therefore, the monitoring of the restraint chair’s appropriate use is critical.
An important question is whether the voters of Allegheny County were aware of the insights of our jail staff regarding the risks of injury and lack of medical care when they voted against the use of the restraint chair in the referendum.
John Kenstowicz
Morningside