Hampden County’s Pepper Spray Problem
The Shoestring
June 19, 2019
By Seth Kershner
Use of force reports from the Hampden County Correctional Center reveal disproportionate use of chemical force against prisoners with psychiatric disabilities
Such incidents are “extremely alarming” to Jesse White, staff attorney at Prisoners’ Legal Services. “In so many of these instances what you’re actually seeing is a prisoner in severe emotional distress,” White said, adding that such cases “should be dealt with through mental health intervention and de-escalation instead of force.”