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Standard Operating Procedure #2

Here's a pretty old post from the blog archives of Geekery Today; it was written about 15 years ago, in 2009, on the World Wide Web.

It's done a lot. We have a lot of prisoners in there totally naked. — Timothy Swanson, Sheriff of Stark County, Ohio.

STARK COUNTY — A story that already has people talking nationwide is certain to get more attention with a billboard that encourages former female inmates to report jail abuse.

The billboard along Route 62 near Root Avenue in Stark County was put up as a result of the civil lawsuit brought by Hope Steffey against Stark County Sheriff Tim Swanson.

Steffey’s clothes were forcibly removed by both male and female deputies and she was left completely naked inside the Stark county jail for six hours.

Sheriff Swanson says Steffey was considered suicidal so her clothes had to be removed for her own safety. Steffey has denied she was suicidal.

The woman’s lawyers discovered during the lawsuit that at least 128 women between 1999 and 2007 were strip-searched or forced to remove their clothing or placed on suicide watch, homicide watch or naked detention.

The lawyers were unable to obtain the names of these women due to privacy rights. They are using a billboard along a busy four lane road to encourage these women to come forward and to tell their stories.

— Tom Meyer, WKYC (2009-03-12): Investigator Exclusive: Billboard encourages women to report jail abuse

What is becoming clear is that Sheriff Tim Swanson and his goon squad not only have convinced themselves that this kind of brutality is sometimes acceptable, but also that they have an especially broad understanding of the sort of situation that calls for it, and that they are especially willing to use it as a form of humiliating retaliation, in order to teach uppity or unruly women a lesson, under color of the law. And then, to crown all, to further insult the victim by proclaiming that they did it all For Her Own Good. The Stark County sherriff's office are nothing more and nothing less than a pack of dangerous sexual predators, and their uniforms and badges don't make them any better than any other gang of serial rapists.

— GT 2008-05-10: Rapists in uniform #3: A sixth woman comes forward

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  1. John

    QUOTE “They said the deputies were only following a medical order given by a doctor on duty to remove her clothes.”

    I have already asked for this documentation with a FOIA request, and the sheriff’s office that they have NO evidence that the doctor was EVER called. Bad records keeping or yet another LIE, you decide….

    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/?action=view&current=BCI-Report.jpg

    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. And all the rest of the jail videos are posted on YouTube to prove that these accusations are lies too. (Look for Zemo999’s videos)

    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!

    Deputies responsible in video: Kristin Fenstemaker, Laura Rodgers, Tony Gayles, Richard T. Gurlea Jr., Andrea Mays and Brian Michaels. As are Nurse Coren Lennon and the jail psychologist Thomas Anuszkiewicz, the ones who allegedly made the decision to strip Hope and leave her naked.

  2. John

    UPDATE:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgmyQvB3XSQ

    Ok here’s a video you won’t see on the news.

    Here’s the cops taking Steffey to the cell to strip her naked. This shows what was going on outside in the hallway.

    But as you can see after they have closed up the cell after assaulting her, they IMMEDIATELY open her cell again, and some of them enter it. The rest all stand around and seem to have a good laugh, so this will add some more time to the video.

    As you can see from the video the big guy in the white shirt, he stays at the door to the cell looking in all the time Steffey was being assaulted, and then he stays back around her cell afterwords, looking in….GEE, I wonder WHY? Then afterwords he’s joined by another officer who didn’t get a chance to help strip Steffey and he starts walking down to have a look too.

    I have to wonder where their SWAT team is!

    WHY DON’T THEY JUST SELL TICKETS?!?!?!?

    BUT THEN the camera seems to malfunction, and the next thing you see is a empty hall. BUT only ONE second has passed on the time marks!

    WOW, …..MORE “missing” video from Stark County Sheriff’s Dept.

    Heres a news article that mentions Stark County Jail:

    http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090511/NEWS16/905110319

    In 2007, the last year data was available, the Lucas County Corrections Center housed 26,597 adult inmates and experienced five serious suicide attempts, one inmate escape, 12 inmate-on-inmate assaults, and six inmate-on-staff assaults.

    That same year, the numbers were much lower in the Montgomery County jail in Dayton, where 38,750 inmates were housed and there were no suicide attempts or assaults.

    Much higher numbers were reported from the Stark County jail in Canton, where 11,761 inmates were housed and where there were 14 serious suicide attempts and 89 inmate-on-inmate assaults.

    Montgomery County jail handles THREE TIMES the inmates of Stark County, but they have NO incidents.

    So you have to believe that Montgomery County jail gets no !!!@@e2;20ac;2dc;trouble making’ inmates, or you have to KNOW that Stark County & others have some serious staff problems.

    There’s just TOO many conflicting versions, TOO much evidence “missing”, a MONTHS long “investigation” that leaves too many questions, and too many illogical explanations for everything that was done.

    Support Hope Steffey and demand justice:

    Governor Strickland (614) 466-3555, Fax: (614) 466-9354 http://www.governor.ohio.gov/Contact/tabid/153/Default.aspx

    Senator Voinovich (800) 205-6446, Fax: (216) 522-7097 http://voinovich.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Contact.ContactForm

    Senator Brown (202) 224-2315, Fax: (202) 228-6321 http://brown.senate.gov/contact/

    Congressman Boccieri (330) 489-4414, Fax: (330) 489-4448 http://boccieri.house.gov/contact/index.shtml

    U.S. Attorney General Holder, (202) 353-1555 http://www.usdoj.gov/contact-us.html

    Ohio Attorney General Cordray, (877) 244-6446 http://www.ag4ohio.gov/Public/details.aspx?s=222

    Stark County Sheriff, (330) 430-3800, strkshrf@raex.com http://www.sheriff.co.stark.oh.us

· March 2010 ·

  1. John

    Here’s a news article that mentions Stark County Jail:

    http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090511/NEWS16/905110319

    In 2007, the last year data was available, the Lucas County Corrections Center housed 26,597 adult inmates and experienced five serious suicide attempts, one inmate escape, 12 inmate-on-inmate assaults, and six inmate-on-staff assaults.

    That same year, the numbers were much lower in the Montgomery County jail in Dayton, where 38,750 inmates were housed and there were no suicide attempts or assaults.

    Much higher numbers were reported from the Stark County jail in Canton, where 11,761 inmates were housed and where there were 14 serious suicide attempts and 89 inmate-on-inmate assaults.

    Montgomery County jail handles THREE TIMES the inmates of Stark County, but they have NO incidents.

    So you have to believe that Montgomery County jail gets no !!!@@e2;20ac;2dc;trouble making’ inmates, or you have to KNOW that Stark County & others have some serious staff problems.

  2. John

    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 arresting cop is saying it on video.

    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 cousin getting arrested the month before for another domestic battery charge, and even her brother mentions that she had another assault charge just the month before when he calls 911 & the cops on his OWN SISTER!

    Plus 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, telling her that he will still investigate her assault even though he is arresting her. Plus he also names her as the victim in his radio traffic! So WHY are the papers saying there was “confusion”, there is none in the evidence!?!? It didn’t make any sense.

    Then Richard T. Gurlea Jr testified under oath that the investigation was never finished, because Steffey was !!!@@e2;20ac;2dc;unable to contribute to the investigation’.

    HUH?? You mean ANY victim that is knocked unconscious or killed will never have their case solved!?!?! Because Steffey had gone back to the sheriff’s dept 4 days later to file abuse complaints & the assault. So are they trying to say she was STILL unable to “contribute to the investigation'”?? This makes no sense at all!

    Then the cops got only TWO written witness statements, despite the fact that there were several people listed in their own reports as witnesses! Again it doesn’t make any sense, especially since the only two statements were from the alleged assailant & her brother, and NO OTHER witnesses.

    Then I found the last piece of the puzzle that would make sense of all this…the cops tried to FRAME Steffey for the assault that she had reported!!

    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 in the incident report they filled out???

    http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y39/Zemo999/Incident-Report-Assault.jpg

    NO news source has EVER reported that Steffey was actually arrested for assault too.

    Does this make you wonder what else we don’t know….because they are STILL trying to hide evidence, saying that it was part of the Grand Jury testimony and can not be released.

— 2012 —

  1. Discussed at buchananreport.com

    Police Brutally Strip Woman In Jail | Buchanan Report:

    […] I keep finding other bloggers keeping up the story, and many concerned citizens following it – but very little other media, other than WKYC. […]

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