Lexington Herald-Leader (Sunday)
Kentucky prison guards used Taser 7 weapons to deliver thousands of volts to inmates
The weapon used by prison staff on Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex inmates last year was the Taser 7, an electric stun gun produced by Axon, with headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Some facts about the Taser 7:
Introduced in 2018, Axon sells the device as a defensive weapon to law enforcement agencies around the world. There’s also a Taser 7CQ for civilians. More recently, Axon has been offering an upgraded Taser 10.
The Taser 7 has two replaceable cartridges that can shoot two small probes up to 25 feet, delivering a jolt of thousands of volts of electricity when they hit a body. That’s usually enough to knock people down and render them helpless.
Instead of firing the probes, a user can switch the Taser 7 into “drive-stun” mode. An electrical arc will spark across the front of the weapon, which must be forcefully pushed into the person you want to stun.
That’s what the prison guards at Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex did, according to an internal investigation. They used drive-stun mode to shock inmates who flunked their monthly drug test, in exchange idea to do this. Lord, no, I have been here almost three years and have never caused any trouble and never done anything like this.”
Investigators submitted a report June 6, 2023, substantiating the allegation that prison staff Tasered inmates during drug testing.
They identified six inmates they said they could confirm as being Tasered. One inmate told them he believed as many as 14 inmates were Tasered that day. But most of the 28 inmates they interviewed denied knowing anything or declined to talk, they wrote in their report.
Collins, Grim and Dube were fired June 28, 2023. Newsome for not reporting the test results.
Three guards were fired and convicted of misdemeanor assault or official misconduct. A fourth guard was suspended for 30 days. The warden has announced his retirement.
The Taser 7 has an internal memory that stores data from each time it’s used. An Axon engineer, working with Department of Corrections investigators, used that internal memory to reconstruct the Tasering incidents last year at Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex, which exposed the guards’ false denials, investigators said.
John Cheves: (859) 334-0802, @BGPolitics
THIS INCIDENT WAS INVESTIGATED THOROUGHLY AND, AS A RESULT, MULTIPLE DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS WERE TAKEN, INCLUDING THE DISMISSAL OF THREE EMPLOYEES. WE ALSO PRESENTED THIS CASE TO THE LOCAL PROSECUTOR AND CRIMINAL CHARGES WERE FILED. Morgan Hall, Kentucky Department of Corrections spokeswoman
was suspended for 30 days for failing to stop or report the tasering, at least not until Harris’ complaint led to a formal review. State records showed Newsome still on the Department of Corrections payroll this week at $43,856 a year.
Collins could not be reached for comment this week. Grim,
Dube and Newsome did not respond to requests for comment.
The fired guards were convicted in Morgan District Court last October, on charges of fourth-degree assault and second-degree official misconduct for Collins and Grim and second-degree official misconduct for Dube. They were sentenced to 30 days to 90 days in jail, but those sentences were put on hold for two years through conditional discharge, which is essentially a form of probation.
The system worked, said Hall, the Department of Corrections spokeswoman.
“This incident was investigated thoroughly and, as a result, multiple disciplinary actions were taken, including the dismissal of three employees,” Hall said. “We also presented this case to the local prosecutor and criminal charges were filed.”
However, Buckles, the inmates’ attorney, said the guards were only punished because an inmate’s mother made a lot of noise. Eastern Kentucky Correctional Complex has a history of civil-rights violations, and yet the state provides inmates with little chance to file a grievance without being ignored or harassed, he said.
“No one cares what prisoners say or think,” Buckles said.
“But in this case, someone on the outside got word to the governor’s office. That’s why it was taken seriously this time. That’s what made the difference here.”
John Cheves: (859) 334-0802, @BGPolitics