Strip Search of Woman by Sheriff's Deputies Called 'Outrageous'

[John]

This link shows that Deputy Richard T. Gurlea Jr was NOT recommended to be hired. But the sheriff hired him anyway.
This link also shows that not ALL the video has been turned over by the sheriff's dept. The sheriff also accuses the news of just showing parts of the video, to gather sympathy for Hope Steffy, when the news denies this, he THEN admits that he doesn't know what video they have.
So the news asks for ALL video & audio that the sheriff's dept has.
http://www.wkyc.com/video/player.aspx...
As of 04-14-2008 the sheriff’s dept has still NOT turned over all the video to Steffy’s lawyers or to the news. One can only suspect that if this video was this bad the rest would certainly put them in jail for a long time.
The building video CLEARLY shows her being taped, while what looks to be the whole night shift,(4 men & 4 women) parade her down the hall. I guess the Sheriff’s web page that calls this a ‘unpleasant’ duty for his officers, doesn’t realize they have made a spectator sport out of it.
Heres a link to Steffy’s lawsuit in PDF format, I cut out a piece to post. http://pamelahennessy.com/steffey.pdf
CUT&PASTE: 21. Gurlea drove to the Sheriff’s office with Hope in the back seat of his cruiser. On arrival at the Sheriff’s office, Gurlea left Hope in his cruiser for about 5 minutes and spoke with another deputy. It is unknown what was said by Gurlea to the other deputy. Gurlea then returned and told Hope to do exactly what the Sheriff’s staff said she should do and that she would then probably be going home that evening.
I smell a setup, this gets to stinking more & more.
Also for anyone wondering, I have personally seen Hope Steffy’s arrest record. Besides this incident, she had NO record, not even a speeding ticket.

As for the Stark County ‘protocols’, in Steffy’s case, the POLICE are not supposed to be able to ‘punish’ you for a ‘crime’ they THINK you might commit!!! And with this suicide ‘watch’ that’s exactly what they are doing!

The excuse that it is for a persons own good is BS. And not part of their function.

If they REALLY think someone is suicidal, then they need to be transferred to a medical facility that is equipped to give a REAL diagnosis and handle patients like that. Plus they would have all the medication & equipment for people that may REALLY be suicidal.

NOT FORCEABLY STRIPPED NAKED AT THE JAIL!!

To NOT get them to a mental health facility is as much denying them medical help, as if they were hurt & bleeding and they didn’t take them to a hospital!!

This whole thing needs to be changed or taxpayers will be paying lawsuit after lawsuit. It’s OUTRAGEOUS!

And some police would have you believe that a strip search is needed to search for ‘weapons or drugs’. With a pat down and all the metal detectors & wands we have, I don’t see the weapons search excuse as valid either.
Most court houses have detectors at the entrance to scan for weapons, either they are effective and stop the weapons, or they aren’t effective and they are a waste of money. You can’t have it both ways.
And if we are depending on winning the “War on Drugs”, by pulling down the underpants of women & children, then we are in big trouble.
Police have abused this power for too long, taxpayers have paid lawsuits for this outrageous behavior for too long and we need a FEDERAL LAW to stop the practice.

[USA]

DeputyDawg, obviously you weren't able to gain acceptance into the Law Enforcement side of the sheriff's department. Otherwise you wouldn't be in the jailhouse. You are defending the deputies, which is natural, but that doesn't make it right. Having walked, and had many relatives and friends who have walked in those shoes (since you weren't able to come up with anything more original than a quote), the behavior of those deputies was outrageous. As more stories of other women from that particular jailhouse emerge, it starts to appear that the jail was systematically engaging in this type of behavior. You and I know that not all police or guards are good, upright. There are people who should never wear the badge. They'll have their day in court, but the evidence presented is damning, and their weak excuses of procedure should not be covered by others trying to shield the profession.

[El Jefe]

John: As much as I'm suspicious of Officer Gurlea's behavior in this incident, I think it's unfair to bring up his hiring report. If he'd only been on the force for 2-3 years, then sure, it's relevent. But he'd been serving for what, 8 years? At what point is it clear that a hiring report is wrong? 10 years? 20 years? If a guy has a bad hiring report, puts in 19 years of meritorious service and then screws up 1 month before retirement, should we have "known all along" that he was a bad apple? I think this is all sound and fury without much substance.

I agree with you about the missing video. It's sloppy, and makes them look bad. Do they deserve to look that bad? Well, if we had the video, we'd know. Maybe it would help them, maybe not.

The website calls it an unpleasant duty, and it is. Sure, the men in law enforcement that I know do enjoy looking at an attractive nude inmate...in their shoes, so would I. But the consensus that I've gotten is that the VERY cheap thrill of getting a quick glimpse of an inmates breasts or buns is very not worth the drama, the hassle or the paperwork that accompanies it. A typical comment was along the lines of, "If I need that kind of stimulation, I'll just buy a Playboy and pass on dealing with crazy naked females, thank you very much."

You mentioned that you've seen Steffey's arrest record. Is there any way to get a copy of that, short of mailing the Stark County SD? I guess what I'm saying is, can you share? Some people have searched various online databases and determined that she'd gotten 2 minor traffic tickets in the last 8-9 years, and there's a separate report (unconfirmed) that she had a DWI sometime around 1996 or so. To me, it makes some difference to me if Officer Gurlea was or was not aware of any previous record, especially the DWI.

You've hit on something...was this a matter of, "We don't like doing this but we have to", or "She's got an attitude problem? I'll show you how we deal with attitude problems around here..." If it's the former, the officers you see in the video are relatively blameless, but some policies need to change. If it's the latter, then the "attitude adjustment" needs to be in the people wearing the uniforms! We don't really know, though, and have only the statements of the other women who have come forward to raise suspicion.

Ideally, a suicidal inmate would be transported to a medical facility, but that's not always possible and in fact is not routine in US jails and prisons. Correctional facilities can quite successfully manage suicidal inmates if the right programs and policies are in place. Stripping to the skin (followed by re-robing with safe garments!) is recommended only for the most acutely suidical inmates, not for most. Suicidal inmates shouldn't be isolated, either. When they have to be single-celled for their own protection or the protection of other inmates, they require constant supervision from correctional staff. Staff should also be encouraged to engage suicidal inmates in conversation when possible, to distract the inmate from thoughts of suicide if nothing else.

You also hit on another good point...routine strip searches for things as minor as clearing up parking tickets used to be the order of the day. It was only when enough women spoke up about this practice that the courts stepped in and banned routine strip searches for persons suspected of misdemeanors (unless there was some reason to believe they were concealing weapons, drugs, or other contraband). Perhaps routine stripping of suicidal inmates (especially those that are not at great risk of suicide) will suffer the same fate.

[John]

ABB wrote:

<quoted text>I know the video shows them asking, so that is not in question,

I have seen NO video showing any such thing.
If you have please post a link to it.
Maybe this is why it took so long:
The 16-page complaint notes in the fifth claim for relief that the sheriff produced thousands of pages of requested records, but “specifically failed to produce the videotape of the strip search.
As of the 14th of April the Sheriff has still NOT produced all the video.

[John]

Just the stuff we know FOR SURE is enough to get these sadists jail time.

You don’t leave a victim without medical care.
You don’t have males on females, let alone EIGHT people to strip a handcuffed woman.(4men&4women)
You don’t leave them naked, without at least a paper covering.
You don’t take them to be booked naked.

This has nothing to do with them thinking she was suicidal, it was almost CERTAINLY done to humiliate, embarrass, degrade and punish Hope Steffy.

And then there is all the DISPUTED stuff that we have.

That she was attacked by the deputy without just cause.(which is why he had to come up with a BS charge against her)
That he pulled on her arm to get her ‘to react’ and then made it seem as if she was resisting.
Deputy and jailers claim that she was in mood swings, but NO VIDEO shows this.
That the deputy left her in the car, while he talked to someone at the jail.(This alone raises a red flag for me!!)
That she was told she could go home after questions.
That she was NEVER asked to remove her cloths.
That the officers attacked her without warning.
That her tooth & back were injured in the multiple attacks by police.

And then we have all the ‘missing’ video for icing on the cake…….

As of May 5th sheriff Swanson has still NOT turned over all the Steffy video!
There must be something on there they don't want out.

Another Update:

Looks like a 5th woman is coming forward with her story. She said she fears reprisals for speaking out.
I can see why, it seems that everyone in that county is part of the problem, at least all the ones I have talked to.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl......

And now surprise, the State Attorney General, who is supposed to be investigating this incident, is himself being investigated.

How would he be able to investigate the Steffy case, when he himself seems to be part of the problem????

They called for his resignation, but he refused, so now they are going the impeachment route.

CUT&PASTE:
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann has refused to step down as Ohio's Attorney General, despite pleas that he do so or face impeachment.

Early Monday evening, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland said top state Democratic officials will immediately begin drafting an impeachment resolution against Dann.

http://www.wkyc.com/news/news_articl......

I can imagine what the state AG is up to. They are holding off on the investigation, until the Steffy settlement.

Which is supposed to be sometime this month.

Then more than likely, the settlement will include stuff to kill the rest of the investigation.

An official at the sheriff's dept claims this will not happen. That everything will come out after the state investigation is complete.

I been around the block a couple times and I didn't just get off the banana boat.

I'm calling BS on this, if I'm wrong, so be it. But I think they will quietly try to bury this in the settlement.

Anyone care to bet me $20?

This whole county needs to be cleaned out!

[Edzzzz]

El Jefe wrote:

John: As much as I'm suspicious of Officer Gurlea's behavior in this incident, I think it's unfair to bring up his hiring report. If he'd only been on the force for 2-3 years, then sure, it's relevent. But he'd been serving for what, 8 years?
You mentioned that you've seen Steffey's arrest record. Is there any way to get a copy of that, short of mailing the Stark County SD? I guess what I'm saying is, can you share? Some people have searched various online databases and determined that she'd gotten 2 minor traffic tickets in the last 8-9 years, and there's a separate report (unconfirmed) that she had a DWI sometime around 1996 or so.

What if Gurlea has been doing this for 8 years?? His record needs to be checked to find out if there have been any other complaints that have been swept under the rug. I certainly wouldn't take the Sheriff's word for it, after he watches this video and still sees nothing wrong!

As for Steffy's record, you can look here:
http://www.alliancecourt.org/docket/search_la...

The problem comes because there are 2 Hope J Steffy's/Steffey's.

And it is further confused because they have Steffy's address on SOME of Steffey's records, BUT with the RIGHT zip code and birthdate.

The correct Steffy's Birth Date: 04-04-1960 and her correct zip code is 44460.

The wrong Steffey's Birth Date: 04-04-1966 and her correct zip code is 44706.

I have contacted the courts about the errors, but no reply so far.

[John]

The Correctional Health Care Group, the ones that decide WHO is suicidal, doesn't seem like they care about actually helping a patient, even if they were ACTUALLY suicidal.

The sheriff says this isn't a 'strip search'.

But after she is stripped, the females leave and the males give her a "body cavity" search.(I can't see a difference to me, but in law there is.)
Which is a clearly illegal offense.

These cops need jail time

[out of control]

Thesse cops do need jail time. They need to send a message that this is not acceptable. It is not accepatble in a POW camp so it should not be acceptable in Ohio.

[John]

Since I have not received a return call from Swanson, ever, over the course of 5 months, I decided to email him:

I have already heard about the grand jury decision.
But I still had a few questions.
Heres a couple series of film strips, both with one of the deputies holding Hope Steffy and the other deputy with his head down at her butt and his hands blurred out at her genitalia.

Q1 Doesn't this qualify as a "visual body cavity" inspection?(So what ARE they doing?)

Q2 Why would men be banned from strip searches and body cavity inspections, but be allowed to be here for a "suicide precaution"? There were plenty of women there to handle the problem.

Q3 Why are the men still here after the women have left, and how long are they continuing to abuse Steffy??(As you can see there are at least these two sequences, with and without the blanket.)

Q4 The doctor claimed she was TOO suicidal for a suicide suit. Why wasn't she given a paper covering then? Keeping her naked was BS and the only reason I can see is to punish her.

Q5 Why wasn't a restraint chair used, is stripping someone the ONLY method you people use?(BTW if your going to use a weak excuse like prisoners get hurt more in a restraint chair, just remember the broken tooth and bulged disk in Steffy's back before you do.)

Q6 Deputies claim she was drunk, what was her breathalyser reading?

I'd ask some more questions, but I don't expect answers back from these.

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y3.../Cavity...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y3...avityNo...

[John]

Sorry bad links in message above:

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/...

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/...

[John]

Well the CantonRep paper has posted ALL the strip video, or what they claim to have of it. Unbelievable!

Officials at Stark County & the State saying they could see nothing wrong with this video. And a few people on other sites have agreed with them!

BUT just so we’re all on the same page, lets review the video….

First of all, this video STARTS after Steffy is already forced down on the bunk. The camera operator tells investigators she doesn’t know WHY the whole recording isn’t there. And the piece that is “missing” is exactly when Steffy claimed she was never asked to remove her cloths & was assaulted by the staff. No problems with the ‘magic’ camera…RIGHT?

Plus what Swanson & the officials are saying is that not only is it ok for 8 people, men & women to be present, the men are also allowed to remove a woman’s cloths. EVEN if there are enough women there to do it.

And if a woman ‘reacts’ to being stripped by men & women, with spectators also standing there, while being videoed, the men are not ONLY allowed to RESTRAIN her, they are also allowed to pull her arms in submission holds, while yelling for her to “STOP IT”.

And then AFTER she is already stripped naked, its STILL ok for the men to put her in an arm bar submission hold, if she starts screaming while they force her crossed legs against her butt, while waiting to “change a mat”.

And its also ok for the camera, which is supposed to be on the prisoner at ALL times, to deliberately swing away so you can’t tell what they are doing to her. No problem here too RIGHT?

===== Yeah, just having a couple men TWICE her size, and a couple women, JUST restraining her isn’t enough, if she doesn’t cooperate, they can also TORTURE her into SUBMISSION.=====

And then once they leave, these “professionals” can have a good laugh…I guess they didn’t realize the camera was STILL running.

THIS is what ALL the Swanson supporters are good with…RIGHT?

Because Swanson and the “investigators” are OK with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch...

[Emily]

The officers never tested her for being drunk. If that was part of her offence, then they've lost all credibility anyway.

[End the absurdity]

This is a crime committed by the officers directly. No misinterpretation, no interference, just plain old criminal mischief by officers who swore to protect and serve. These male officers need to be fired and jailed and all of the ones who helped cover up this mess should be fired as well.

They should have used female officers for the search. Plain and simple.

She's got a good case. I hope she prevails.

[rwwllms]

No one, No one, should be allowed to forcibly strip and torture another person until that person has actually been convicted of a crime.

I hope someone puts out a bounty on all cops involved in the raping, torturing, and stripping of Steffy. Lowlife thugs like that don't deserve to live much less wear a badge.

[cuntmeup]

http://www.youtube.com/watch...
Bush was there read,,Gito flash backs

[doitagaon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch...
Chatting Attempted

[John]

This is the BCI report that Agent Christy S. Palmer sent to John D. Ferrero, Prosecuting Attorney Stark County Ohio.
Dated April 16, 2008 BCI Case #: SI-76-08-14-0147

This is part of page 3

http://s2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/...

Sheriff Swanson has ALWAYS maintained that Steffey was ASKED & REFUSED to remove her cloths.
But here’s the BCI’s OWN REPORT that PROVES this is a LIE!
And then they try to explain away their first lie with another lie, about why it was done this way without asking Steffey to do it voluntarily.

They are trying to say that Steffey was resisting enough that EIGHT people (5 women, 3 men) couldn't take the chance of ASKING her to remove her cloths, or EVEN TELL HER WHAT WAS GOING ON!!!
What a crock!!

I did NOT see any resisting in the video, I saw eight cops parading her to the cell, with her in cuffs.

In fact EVERY video I have seen she is in cuffs!
And the ONLY times I have seen her react to the cops is after they have assaulted her or in the process of stripping her naked.

But apparently catching the sheriff's dept in a lie isn't a big deal to our "independent" BCI investigator, Christy Palmer, who seems ready to accept ANY excuse the sheriff's dept wants to use.

The report also goes on to say that they lowered Steffey in a slow controlled manner to the floor. Except that Steffey says she was thrown to the floor.
She also told her husband in a phone call that she thought the cops had broken her nose.
And she was treated by the nurse for the injury.
And in page 4 of this report Christy Palmer even states that Steffey reported that her nose was making "crunching noises".

So I guess this is proof of a second LIE!(Or third)

And still Christy Palmer, the "independent investigator" doesn’t think twice about accepting the word of the cops over the VICTIMS in spite of proof.
BTW, Christy also references a video that she says “proves that she was lowered in a slow controlled manner to the floor”. As far as I know, THIS would have to be on the 'non-existent' beginning of the strip video.
On May 5th when I asked about the "missing" video, I was told it would soon be released.
Now here again it looks as though it’s referenced...even though they NOW claim it does not exist.
Interesting.(I have filed a request for this video.)

Its no wonder the grand jury found that the cop’s actions didn't rise to the level of "criminal culpability". How could they with the BCI investigator spellchecking the sheriff’s own reports and passing them on as FACT.

This isn’t so much an investigation report as it is a smear campaign against Hope Steffey.

The cops can polish this turd as much as want, this STILL STINKS!

BTW I don't know why they bothered to black out the names of Nurse Coren Lennon and the jail psychologist Thomas Anuszkiewicz, aren't they PROUD of the work they do?

[Marjorie Starr]

Anyone who abuses the law to degrade someone should be held liable. Dealing with prisoners is no excuse to humiliate. If you read the literature extreme humiliation is a permanent wound to the psyche and creates and enviornment of violence, and suicide. These are two things that any credible officer of the law would not want.

Every officer on this case should be tried for assault and battery with the intent to humiliate and degrade that is the same as torture.

Recent studies now show that cruel and degrading treatment are more difficult to cope with than physical torture.

Shame on the penal system, the medical system and the mental health system. And this is supposed to be the USA

[John]

Well Marjorie, it was even worse than that. I have gotten more proof as I look into this case, and now I find out even more stuff....heres a Cut & Paste:

And it looks as if its not over yet. DANG! The more I look into this the worse it seems to get.

I was always puzzled by the news saying that there was "confusion" when the cops arrived.

I'm thinking what "confusion"?? They have everyone there saying that Steffey was the victim, even the cousin is saying it on video. Plus the brother of the attacker calls the cops on his own sister.
Heck even the cop testifies that he went to his car to document Steffey's injuries...and the cops are on tape talking about Steffey's niece getting arrested the month before for another assault charge, and Gurlea has everyone looking for Steffey’s missing hair, and Gurlea is on tape talking to Steffey as if he knows she is the victim, so WHY are the papers saying there was "confusion"!?!?

Then I found out why...the cops tried to FRAME Steffey for the assault that she had reported!!

This is a Cut & Paste of what I have been posting:

UPDATE

Here’s PROOF the cops were actually trying to charge the VICTIM for the crime she was reporting!!

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/...

NONE of the papers have EVER reported that Steffey was actually arrested for assault too.

Leanne Preston is listed as the VICTIM! This is the niece that Steffey claimed attacked her.(her injuries are listed as a broken fingernail)

Scott Preston is the Uncle of Leanne, the woman that allegedly attacked Steffey. They are listing him as the reportee of the assault, which he wasn't.

HOW they are listing him as reporting the assault is beyond me.
Ok heres part of Uncle Scott's testimony at trial.

So HOW do the cops use a statement to frame Steffey, from a guy that testifies that he saw NOTHING?!?!?!?

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/...

Its all an attempt to cover the cops abuse of Steffey, when witnesses said he exploded in a rage at her.

Leanne's brother is the one that actually reported the assault, and called police ON HIS OWN SISTER, at Steffey's request.(BTW he never showed up at the trial to testify.)

The arresting cop, Richard T. Gurlea Jr., testified at Steffey's trial that the 'investigation' into the assault was never finished.(REALLY?!!? Then how do you explain the assault charges against Steffey???)

We have Steffey's cousin, on tape, telling Steffey that the officer has to KNOW that none of this was her fault, while the officer is within listening distance.

Plus we have the other witnesses that said Steffey was the one attacked. The cop has them all looking for Steffey hair that was ripped out.

There seems to be no “confusion” about who was the victim like the papers claim.

Even the officer testified at court that he went to his cruiser to get a camera to document Steffey's injuries, so what happened?

He is also recorded on tape talking about a previous assault the month before that Steffey's niece got arrested for.

And he is recorded on TAPE telling Steffey that he will still 'investigate' her assault even as he has her in his car, so what happened?

This report SHOWS what happened, the cops KNEW who the victim was, and their setup is ALL BS!!

And they were trying to railroad the VICTIM of the assault!