Lawsuit: Guards video-recorded strip searches at Michigan's women's prison
Women in Michigan's only prison for females were, per policy, video-recorded on corrections officers' body cameras while they were nude during routine strip searches and while showering and using toilets, according to a new lawsuit.
Twenty Jane Does filed the civil lawsuit May 6 in Washtenaw County Circuit Court, with one of their attorneys, Todd Flood, telling the Free Press that he and his colleagues have more than 500 retained complainants in the case, with incidents occurring from January through March of this year.
The lawsuit names the governor, the director and deputy director of the Michigan Department of Corrections, and about three dozen employees, from corrections officers to the warden, at the Women's Huron Valley Correctional Facility. It seeks $500 million in damages.
It indicates the MDOC implemented a body-worn camera policy in January that allowed staff to wear active cameras at the women's prison, including during strip searches. Officials characterized the cameras being in "passing recording mode," but they still captured real-time images and data, according to the lawsuit.
"It's a clear violation of the law to videotape or take photographs of someone naked," Flood said, adding that while money was allotted for body cameras for prison guards "they did not allot money for video-cameras to commit illegal acts to videotape strip searches."
Messages were left for MDOC spokespersons.
In a news release, attorneys said MDOC officials failed to halt the privacy violations "despite multiple warnings about the policy's illegality from advocacy organizations and state legislators." Concerns started to be raised Feb. 17, with the lawsuit indicating "internal communications reveal that officials were fully aware of these legal concerns yet continued the practice for five more weeks."
The lawsuit indicates the policy changed March 24, with body cameras to be placed in "sleep mode" during routine strip searches, meaning no data, audio or video would be captured. But Flood said there are incidents of recording when women are naked still occurring when corrections officers go into bathrooms or showers.
"Even after the official policy change, corrections officers flagrantly continued to record women in states of undress, demonstrating the deeply entrenched culture of voyeurism and disregard for women's dignity," according to the lawsuit.
Flood said the plaintiffs are looking for "no invasion of privacy when a lady goes to the bathroom or when they're in a shower stall." They also seek destruction of all recordings made during the illegal period and mandatory training for MDOC staff, according to the lawsuit.
The prison, located near Ypsilanti, can house up to 2,006 women, according to the MDOC website. Flood said there are female and men corrections officers at the prison.
Prior to the implementation of body-worn cameras this year, the lawsuit indicates, strip search policies at the prison varied depending on the individual officer. Since the cameras' introduction, it indicates, officers began uniformly conducting strip searches in the "most invasive manner possible, claiming they need to perform searches 'by the book' now that they were being recorded."
Flood said of the more than 500 complainants, about 15 have been released from prison since his team's investigation began. He said also they received several phone calls from prison guards who did not believe this was something that should be done and they were being told to do it.
According to the lawsuit, the MDOC forced "hundreds of women — the vast majority of whom are rape survivors — to submit to video recording while completely nude during strip searches, while showering, while using toilets, and in other states of undress. This conduct constitutes a felony under Michigan law (MCL750.539j) and represents a brazen and calculated violation of fundamental constitutional rights to privacy, bodily integrity, and human dignity."
More: Detroit man says he needed mental health treatment as an inmate, but was punished instead
It indicates the impact has been "devastating," with many plaintiffs experiencing debilitating panic attacks and insomnia among other physical ailments. Several have withdrawn from visiting with family, resigned from prison jobs and left educational programs.
Attorneys for the plaintiffs sent a questionnaire, receiving responses from 319 women at the prison about their experiences, according to the lawsuit, with 83% reported being recorded during strip searches with body cameras. It indicates that 30% were recorded while showering and 38% while using the toilet.
"Women described being forced to endure the profound violation and humiliation of having their exposed bodies recorded, leaving them feeling sexually exploited by the very institution charged with their care," according to the lawsuit.
It indicates women were "forced to bend at the waist, spread their buttocks and expose their vaginal and anal cavities to live cameras worn by corrections officers."
According to the lawsuit, the body camera policy was to be uniform across all MDOC facilities, but officers at men's facilities "frequently exercised discretion to refuse wearing cameras during strip searches. By contrast, officers at WHV strictly enforced the policy, creating a two-tiered system that disproportionately subjected women to recorded strip searches."
It also indicates hundreds of women filed grievances challenging the policy, but officials failed to process the grievances, assign grievance numbers or provide appeal forms. The lawsuit detailed each plaintiffs' experiences as well as including emails about the policy and communications from advocates and legislators expressing concerns.
Contact Christina Hall: chall@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @challreporter.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Lawsuit: Strip searches video-recorded at Michigan women's prison
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