Jail accused of stun-gun abuses

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Corrections officers at a central Ohio jail regularly use pain-inducing stun guns to subdue inmates when there’s no physical threat and when inmates are restrained, outnumbered, disoriented or mentally disabled, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court.

The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court by the Ohio Legal Rights Service on behalf of three inmates, says the alleged actions at the Franklin County jail in Columbus violate constitutional rights and jail policy. It seeks class-action status to include inmates as well as those who become jailed while the suit is pending.

The Legal Rights Service, an independent state agency, says video and written reports show that guards have improperly used stun guns several times since at least January 2008 “to inflict pain, fear, corporal punishment and humiliation” when inmates wouldn’t obey commands or used profanity or insults.

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