Police Misconduct Blog

A “sadistic” prison guard at Auburn Correctional Facility in upstate New York has triggered yet another lawsuit related to his alleged abuse of inmates. Lt. Troy Mitchell, who has worked as a correctional officer for almost two decades, allegedly waterboarded and beat inmate Matthew...

[Ed. Note. This post contains a video which some viewers may find disturbing.]
A federal jury ruled against two Des Moines police officers and found they used excessive force. Dustin Burnikel claims he was beaten by the two cops on a downtown street.
According to his complaint, Burnikel...

A lawsuit against prison health provider Correct Care Solutions and Omaha’s Douglas County Jail alleges negligence and malpractice on behalf of 13 inmates, at least one whom died due to lack of treatment.
That inmate had just been released from the facility, and he barely made it out...

[Updated September 2019] Two correctional officers at Columbia Correctional Institution in Wisconsin, Russell Goldsmith (63) and Michael Thompson (46), have been charged with abuse of an inmate and misconduct of public office.
The incident spans several days and involves several people. On...

Jails And Prison Healthcare Providers Responsible for Medication Errors A recent jury verdict in Texas suggests that substance abuse facilities don’t have to follow the same rules as ordinary hospitals and clinics. In most healthcare facilities, only medically licensed professionals have...

Defrauding the court is a serious offense, and U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller wants to find out if state officials have submitted fraudulent reports in conjunction with California prison psychiatric care.
Judge Mueller will appoint a fraud investigator to look into allegations by Dr....

Etienne Choquette, 54, an inmate in the Washington State penal system, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis back in 2009. In early November 2018, a federal jury in Tacoma awarded him $149,000 in compensatory damages and $400,000 in punitive damages – damages meant to punish the offender for,...

No one ever accused the justice system of moving swiftly, but the filing of federal civil rights charges against law enforcement officers makes the movement of ordinary charges downright stagnant. It can take years – even decades – for federal prosecutors to decide to file a civil...

As a former corrections officer and prosecutor, I cringe whenever I read about someone dying in prison or jail. Many of these deaths, especially those of recent arrestees, are preventable. To many people die in jails around the country each year because of poor medical care. Tonight we share...

Macomb County prosecutors have accused Dr. Steven Cogswell, a physician treating inmates at the Macomb County Jail, with six counts of second-degree criminal sexual contact.
Cogswell was employed by Correct Care Solutions, a Tennessee-based company supplying medical services to Macomb County...