By Sean Hughes

The Hamilton County Sheriff¨s Office released public records for dealing with unruly inmates, as requested by CityBeat, but blacked out most of the material.

Excessive Force Guard fired pepper ball at shackled inmate At least three supervisors at the Hamilton County Justice Center concluded that a corrections officer used excessive force when she fired three pepperball rounds point blank at the chest of an inmate shackled to a restraining chair. But Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. later overruled their decision.

Although cameras held by officers inside the county jail videotaped the Aug. 10 incident, Leis decided that evidence was ¨inconclusive¨ that Sgt. Michelle Moore used excessive force.

Moore´s actions violated the sheriff´s office´s written policies for dealing with unruly inmates and could´ve potentially subjected her to firing. Instead, Moore initially was ordered to attend three counseling sessions -- a punishment that was overturned by Leis, according to sources close to the incident.

Oddly, a copy of the seven-page policy for dealing with non-compliant inmates and forcibly removing them from cells was heavily redacted before being released to CityBeat. Five pages were entirely blacked out by the sheriff´s office, and large portions were blacked out on the remaining two pages. While such redactions are somewhat common in records provided by the federal government based on national security concerns, they are rare in most public records requests at the local and state levels.

The sheriff´s office told CityBeat it wouldn´t release an unedited version of the policies and was willing to fight the issue in court.

¨If the inmates got ahold of that, it´s a safety issue for my corrections officers,¨ says Gail Wright, a lawyer for the sheriff´s office. ¨I´m not going to jeopardize the lives of my officers.¨

On Aug. 10, five inmates at the Justice Center who had been placed in administrative segregation for bad behavior became more defiant. They placed toilet paper and other material into their toilets, causing them to clog and overflow, and wouldn´t allow corrections officers into their cells.

A Correctional Emergency Response Team (CERT) forced its way into the cells using gun-launched balls containing pepper spray, which acts as an eye and lung irritant. In an attempt to intimidate one inmate into compliance, a deputy described the ball as a ¨500-feet per second stingball.¨

In the videotape, the CERT members are shown placing the unruly inmates into restraining chairs one by one, as they slowly regain control.

But when deputies get to the final inmate, Michael Jackson, he remains combative. As CERT members drag him from a cell while he´s handcuffed at both his arms and legs, Jackson -- who is white -- turns to Moore, who is African-American, and calls her a ¨nigger.¨ On the tape, Jackson can be heard saying to Moore, ¨You´re choking me.¨

After Jackson is strapped to a restraining chair, Moore shoots him in the chest with the pepperball gun. A minute or so later, Jackson uses another racial slur, and CERT members dare him to say it again.

In all, the investigative report determined that Moore shot Jackson with the pepperball gun two or three times after he was shackled. Jackson was treated by a jail nurse and then charged with aggravated rioting.

Jackson´s mother, Jennifer Jackson, contacted CityBeat about the incident in late November after she learned that Moore wouldn´t face any punishment.

¨My son´s no angel but he didn´t deserve to be treated this way,¨ Jennifer Jackson says. ¨There´s a right way and a wrong way to do things.¨

At the time of the incident, Michael Jackson was serving a six-month sentence for receiving stolen property. Placed in an isolation cell, he was alone 23 hours a day, which adversely affects the mental outlook of inmates, Jennifer Jackson says.

Noting that her son has a criminal record dating to the time he was 12 years old, she quickly adds, ¨Yeah, he´s a little brat, but he´s mine, regardless. A mother has got to stick up for her son.¨

CityBeat filed a public records request Nov. 26 with the sheriff´s office seeking any documents connected to the altercation, including disciplinary reports. Also, the newspaper asked to interview a staff person who could answer questions about the incident. Shortly thereafter, Wright said she´d compile the relevant documents and release them to CityBeat but added neither Leis nor any other staff member would grant an interview.

Two and a half weeks later, on Dec. 12, Wright provided 25 pages of documents, including the disciplinary report and two sections of the policy handbook for deputies -- one on handling firearms and defensive weapons, the other on procedures for ¨forced cell extraction.¨

In an Oct. 22 report, Capt. John Taylor wrote, ¨It is my opinion, after reviewing reports and the videotape, the force used was in compliance with sheriff´s office policy until the point you fired the pepperball rounds striking Inmate Jackson in the chest area. Your actions in this matter places you in violation of the following: Hamilton County Sheriff´s Office rules, regulations and disciplinary process.¨

Moore acknowledged and signed the report the same day, nearly six weeks after the incident occurred. Over the following two days, the director of corrections and two deputy directors reviewed the report, all agreeing with its findings and recommending discipline.

On Nov. 9, though, the report landed on Leis´ desk. In a one-paragraph addition to the report, he wrote, ¨After my personal interview with Sgt. Moore and further interviews of CERT members by corrections staff, I have concluded the evidence is inconclusive that Sgt. Moore used excessive force in this situation.¨

Leis wrote ¨dismissed¨ on the report and signed his name, closing the case.

Asked to explain the turnabout, Wright only says, ¨The sheriff ultimately made the decision to dismiss the disciplinary process. That´s his call.¨

Jennifer Jackson believes Leis doesn´t take claims of excessive force seriously.

¨You get in trouble if you tie up a dog and shoot it,¨ she says, ¨but I guess prisoners don´t have the same rights.¨