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| Pa. Judge OKs Limited Searches of Jail Officers |
| By Associated Press |
| Published: 07/23/2003 |
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A federal judge says a Pennsylvania jail warden can require officers to remove their shoes and belts during random security searches but can't force them to take off their socks. U.S. District Judge Joy Flowers Conti also directed that videotape and audio recordings of the searches cease at the 2,400-bed Allegheny County Jail at least until more definite pat-down guidelines can be determined. Conti set an Aug. 19 court date to consider a permanent restraining order against the security policy, which Warden Calvin Lightfoot says is necessary to keep drugs and weapons out of inmates' hands. The permanent restraining order is being sought by correctional officer Charles Manderino, who received a five-day suspension from Lightfoot after refusing to submit to a search. Fourteen other correctional officers were also disciplined. Manderino sued Lightfoot on behalf of the Allegheny County Prison Employees Independent Union, which he heads. The suspensions will be addressed at the hearing next month. Every day, the 500 male and female officers as well as hundreds of other jail employees pass through metal detectors and have their bags screened. They also are accustomed to random pat-downs. This month, however, the jail instituted a new policy requiring the workers to remove their shoes, belts and socks during the searches. Female workers have had their bras searched as well, and workers are concerned about who may have access to tapes and recordings of the searches, union attorney Bryan Campbell said. The officers support random searches because they help keep weapons from inmates, Campbell said. But in conducting the shakedowns, he said, jail officials will usually only find a few cigarettes on a worker who smokes, he said. The jail doesn't allow smoking. 'As far as the correctional officer is concerned, the system in place was fine,' Campbell said. Lightfoot disagrees, noting that a correctional officer was recently arrested on charges he passed an envelope containing a small amount of marijuana to inmates. 'We have bad employees who are smuggling drugs into this jail and we have investigations going on,' Lightfoot said. 'Why wouldn't I make changes if I'm safeguarding the public?' Ken Kochevar, director of corrections at the Cuyahoga County Jail, said random searches are rarely conducted at his Cleveland jail unless officials have probable cause. He questioned the effectiveness of this type of search. 'I think the feeling is if someone's going to smuggle something, they're going to put it in a place where you can't reach in a pat-down,' Kochevar said. |
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