Source: BrianAJackson/Getty Images
HENRY COUNTY, Ind. — The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana has filed a lawsuit against several members of the Henry County Jail staff.
In the suit, the ACLU of Indiana describes the apparent mistreatment of Stacy Smith at the hands of jail staff. Smith was put in the Henry County Jail during a mental health crisis.
It was there the ACLU claims Smith was held in a restraint chair for several days. The suit also claims jail staff made Smith remove her used tampon in front of a security camera and then used that same camera to take pictures of Smith’s genitals.
Officers are accused of spreading the pictures to other jail staff and harassing Smith about the pictures.
The suit says those officers also encouraged each other to tase Stacy Smith while she was in her jail cell, sometimes offering to pay to do it.
“The circumstances and conditions in which Ms. Smith suffered in the Henry County Jail were grossly inappropriate, particularly given the mental health crisis which led to her confinement,” said Stevie Pactor, ACLU of Indiana Attorney in a press release. “The actions against Ms. Smith by jail officials were unprovoked, humiliating, and caused severe psychological pain.”
The ACLU says Stacy Smith’s Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments were violated. Her legal team wants a jury trial and damages.
