KING 5 News
The women were recorded in their most vulnerable states—while they were changing into jail uniforms or using the bathroom.
More than three dozen DUI suspects are saying they were forced to strip naked on camera at a Washington state jail.
Eleven women and one man filed an initial lawsuit against the Puyallup city jail in August, complaining that cameras in their holding cells recorded their most intimate moments—while they were changing into jail uniforms or using the bathroom. Now, more than two dozen others have stepped forward, expressing shock about the footage.
“You’re treated basically like an animal, like a piece of meat,” one victim told King5. “And these people are supposed to be upholding the law.”
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Seattle attorney James Egan says his law firm is still sorting through dozens of calls from the newly identified victims—mostly women—who feel their privacy has been invaded.
Egan obtained the jail’s surveillance tapes after making several public record requests. The women were told to change everything—including their underwear—and dress in jail uniforms. But they had no idea that their actions were being recorded on a monitor that was watched by mostly male jailers.
A Kings County woman who was arrested for suspected drunk driving in April said she initially refused to change her clothes, nervous about the four male guards and a male inmate who were nearby.
KING 5 News
The guards asked the women to take everything off—including their underwear.
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“Basically I was harassed for not doing it and put back in the holding cell and made to stay there for about 12 hours,” the woman, who asked not to be identified, told King5.
Another woman questioned whether it was necessary to take everything off.
“I thought maybe it was for seeing if we have contraband or something, but we are already patted down. So then, why would there be a camera still?” she said.
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Jail design experts told King5 that this level of surveillance was highly unusual. Kenneth Burns, an architect who has designed 40 jails, said that the Puyallup videos “stunned” him.
“We do have lots of cameras,” Burns said. “But you cannot watch anywhere where someone is using the shower, toilet facilities, or a changing area.”
KING 5 News
Nearly two dozen more women have come forward with complaints about videotaping at the Puyallup city jail. Most were DUI suspects.
Puyallup City Attorney Kevin Yamamota says placing surveillance cameras in common areas and cells is a common practice in American jails. And the city is not planning to change its methods.
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Yamamota also accuses Egan’s law firm of “cherrypicking” videos that support their suit.
“The jail videos we’ve watched so far don’t show any inappropriate activity. In fact, the corrections officers are acting very professionally,” Yamamoto said.
But a female victim disagreed after realizing how vulnerable she looked in her video.
“It’s so sick,” the woman said. “Oh my God, I (didn’t) believe my own eye. It’s me. I felt sick to my stomach.”
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