Pepper spray, spit hood, "Devil's Chair" - did FL LE murder mentally ill grandfather?

[wfgodot]

Why at times there's no love lost between the public and their LE:

Strapped to the 'Devil's Chair' and 'pepper-sprayed to death':
Horrific fate of mentally ill grandfather 'tortured by police until he died'

A mentally ill grandfather died after police officers strapped him naked to a chair, smothered him with a 'spit hood' and pepper-sprayed him 10 times during a 43-hour ordeal, it has been claimed.

Nick Christie, 62, was allegedly tortured in the 'Devil's Chair' at Lee County jail after being detained by Florida police officers in March 2009 following a 'mental breakdown'.

The hood, designed to stop him from spitting at officers, meant he could not escape the noxious spray's fumes - and he was never allowed to clean the residue from his body.

His family is now suing Lee County Sheriff's Department for 'wrongful death'.
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Wait, what??

The trouble started when Christie, who was uncooperative from the time of his arrest, became angry.

Deputies responded by directly spraying him or fogging his cell with pepper spray at least 10 times. He was never allowed to wash the spray off.
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Christie was then placed into a restraining chair to bind inmates at both wrists, both ankles, and across the chest.
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He was also stripped naked, and outfitted with a spit mask, a hood designed to prevent inmates from spitting on jail personnel.
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So - officers and employees surely at least faced discipline after this disturbing matter, yes?

Deputy Medical Examiner Dr Robert Pfalzgraf later noted in his autopsy report that, two days after his death, brown-orange liquid pepper spray was still all over Christie's body.

Pfalzgraf ruled the death a homicide, as Christie's heart gave out due to stress from his exposure to pepper spray. An internal investigation concluded there no wrongdoing on the part of any Lee County deputy.

None of the deputies involved were disciplined in any way and Florida State Attorney Stephen Russell declined to press criminal charges.
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the rest, with pictures and an excellent Fox News video, at Daily Mail link above

The victim, during the 43-hour ordeal

[badhorsie]

This makes me so ANGRY
Do the police not have a "duty of care" regarding people in their custody?

[wfgodot]

Cases like this make it so surprising to me when citizens express blind trust in their public servants.

[mysteriew]

Individually I can understand the use of the "spit hood", of the restraining chair, and even of the use of pepper spray. All of those things might be necessary under some circumstances to ensure the officers safety. If he was restrained in the chair and had a spit hood on, there should have been no reason for the pepper spray. I will almost bet you that they sprayed him because he was hollering and screaming and they wanted to shut him up.

But to be used all together should be criminal. To strip him naked should also be criminal, maybe under some sex charges. And to be used on a mentally ill person, it is worst of all!

I think someone should be contacting their state attorney or whoever oversees the correctional dept or someone who is over the level of this county.

[wfgodot]

Originally Posted by mysteriew

Individually I can understand the use of the "spit hood", of the restraining chair, and even of the use of pepper spray. All of those things might be necessary under some circumstances to ensure the officers safety.

But to be used all together should be criminal. To strip him naked should also be criminal, maybe under some sex charges. And to be used on a mentally ill person, it is worst of all!

I think someone should be contacting their state attorney or whoever oversees the correctional dept or someone who is over the level of this county.

Exactly. Well-put.

[wfgodot]

The whole thing reminds me of an Abu Ghraib torture scenario.

[doubt]

i saw this early this morning and was left speechless.

this is one of the better examples as to why it is dangerous to automatically assume that LE is trustworthy. i bet the poor wife in this case will never forgive herself for making that phone call.

[Trident]

This, IMO, calls for a further investigation HIGHER up, and a law suit.

[SuziQ]

I've got nothing I can type but to string a bunch of swear words together.

[wfgodot]

The place for torturers is indeed jail, except these torturers were on the wrong side of the cell doors.

[Snick1946]

I said it years ago- those in our society that excuse tortue done in our name on the other side of the world have no cause to complain when LE takes a cue and starts doing it to our citizens in their custody.

[wfgodot]

Hunter S. Thompson referred to the type of people who would commit this sort of thing as "rat bastards."

Rarely has plain language been more eloquent and precise.

[Nova]

On behalf of my adopted state, California, I would like to thank my home state, Florida, for taking our place as the center for the wacky, inexplicable and just plain disturbing.