-Caveat Lector- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/"> </A> -Cui Bono?- http://www.sltrib.com/01132000/utah/17310.htm Weber Sheriff Orders Deputies to Stop Hogtying Thursday, January 13, 2000 BY GREG BURTON THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE The Weber County Sheriff's Department has forbidden deputies to hogtie violent suspects. Within weeks of the death of suspect Glen Lutz, Sheriff Brad Slater altered the county's restraint guidelines, advising against future use of a restraint that pulls a subject's hands and feet tight behind his back, as was done to Lutz by three Weber County deputies. In a memo obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune, Slater ordered deputies "to allow the prisoner to be seated upright with his legs bent and his feet out in front of him. . . . At no time will the legs be drawn up until they touch the wrists." And -- emphasizing the point with an underline -- Slater said prisoners tied in this manner "will be sat upright as soon as possible." The two-page memo was distributed to all deputies, who were to sign and return the form by Dec. 15. "In light of the recent death of a prisoner in custody we are reviewing our policies regarding the restraint of prisoners," Slater wrote. "Only in the most extreme situations should you consider a form of restraint that requires the complete immobilization of the prisoner. "Under any circumstance, when mechanical restraints are used on a prisoner, a sheriff's officer or assisting police officer will remain with the prisoner to monitor the prisoner's behavior and safety," the memo continued. "If, for any reason, the prisoner experiences pain or difficulty, the deputy or officer will take appropriate action to make the prisoner as comfortable as possible while still keeping control." On Oct. 16, deputies Steve Haney, Chris Bitton and Brian Jacobs did little to alleviate Lutz's discomfort after hogtying him face-down on the pavement, the Lutz family maintains. Within seconds of being rendered immobile, Lutz stopped breathing and later lapsed into a coma. A month later he was dead. A state autopsy sent to investigators on Tuesday concludes Lutz died of a heart condition aggravated by his arrest, says the Lutz's family attorney, Loni DeLand. The family contests the finding. Before Slater's memo, custody guidelines in Weber County only generally referred to the use of "Total Appendage Restraint," says Weber sheriff's Lt. Klint Anderson. "I call this a fine tuning," he said. "The old policy was not specific." The new policy, crafted as a temporary replacement, resembles guidelines adopted nationwide by agencies stung by the sudden death of otherwise healthy prisoners. Police in Salt Lake City abide by similar rules. It's not clear whether Weber's new guidelines will affect potential litigation by the Lutz family. DeLand says the autopsy, which has not been released officially, is favorable to the deputies. Autopsies conducted after hogtying deaths in other states, which also appeared favorable to law enforcement, did not prevent successful lawsuits. Two years ago, Los Angeles paid $750,000 to the family of a man who died after he was hogtied by police. Last year in Los Angeles County, after the death of another hogtied prisoner, the sheriff's department abandoned the procedure, ordering its deputies to hobble violent suspects in a sitting position instead of face down with their hands and legs secured behind them. In the most recent hogtying case to reach Denver's 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the court is considering a decision by a U.S. District judge in Wyoming who said Laramie police officers should have known the dangers of hogtying. U.S. District Judge William Downs ruled the death of a man who was hogtied by three Laramie officers raised legitimate concern whether the city and its officers were "deliberately indifferent towards people it comes in contact with." Based on that evidence, Downs denied Laramie's motion for immunity from the wrongful-death lawsuit filed on the behalf of Thomas Cruz, who died three years ago while hogtied face down during an arrest. © Copyright 2000, The Salt Lake Tribune All materi -- ----------------------- NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ----------------------- <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soap-boxing! 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