Grievance Regarding Use of Force, Unsafe Restraints, and inhumane Conditions in Jail

LeadProssfional8535 here:

On January 25th, 2026, I, (fill in the blank), was incarcerated at the Thurston County Correctional Facilty. During my intake and confinement, I was subjected to excessive force, unsafe restraint practices, denial of communication, and inhumane and unsanitary conditions.

After verbally disrespecting officers, I was physically taken to the ground by multiple male officers using force that was excessive and unnecessary. Following this incident, I was placed alone in a solitary confinement cell for several hours.

While confined, I calmly requested access to a phone in order to inform my partner of my whereabouts and situation. I made several attempts at asking yet these requests were denied. As time passed, without any communication or explanation, I became increasingly anxious and frightened. In a moment of distress, I made the unwise decision to strike my head against the cell wall.

Following this, I was told that I was going to “get the chair.” At that point, although I was not physically resisting, I was held down by multiple officers and placed into a restraint chair. Multiple officers began strapping different limbs to the chair. One officer tightly secured the waist and right wrist restraints. This correction officer deliberately and forcefully tightened the restraint straps around my waist and right wrist to an unsafe degree. He did not apply the restraints in a measured or controlled manner. Instead, he grabbed the straps and pulled them rapidly and with significant force, tightening them beyond what was necessary for secure restraint. During this process, the officer’s demeanor was aggressive and intimidating, and his facial expression appeared menacing. The manner in which the straps were applied resulted in immediate pain and compromised circulation to my waist. I alerted all surrounding staff about the tightness of the waist strap and the nurse present acknowledged that it was too tight, noting that she was unable to fit a finger between the strap and my body. The waist strap was loosened. It wasn't until I was wheeled to an isolated room that I realized the strap around my right wrist was critically tight causing loss of circulation, numbness and pain.

As I was strapped in the chair and in the isolated room I repeatedly called out for assistance with the dangerously tight wrist strap and attempted to get officers’ attention when I saw them pass by the window. No one responded. I remained restrained for a prolonged period of time without any officer or medical staff checking on my condition or responding to my repeated verbal alerts.

As time passed, I began yelling loudly that I needed help and that the restraint was too tight. Eventually, an officer heard me scream that I was losing circulation and feared I could die. I then heard an officer say, “What the [expletive] did she say?”. The officer entered the room and acknowledged that the wrist restraint was dangerously tight. He examined my hand and stated to another officer my fingernails were turning white, indicating compromised circulation. A nurse then entered and stated, “Yeah, it’s a bit snug, you can loosen it”. The restraint was finally loosened.

The facility’s written policy governing physical restraints states:

Staff members shall conduct direct face-to-face observation at least twice every 30 minutes on an irregular schedule to check the inmate's physical well-being and behavior. Restraints shall be checked to verify correct application and to ensure they do not compromise circulation. All checks shall be documented, with the actual time recorded by the person doing the observation, along with a description of the inmate's behavior. Any actions taken should also be noted in the log.

This policy was not adhered to.

• No irregular every 30-minute face-to-face checks

• Failure to ensure circulation

• Delayed medical response despite repeated complaints

I was restrained for approximately 1.5 hours without the required face-to-face observations, restraint checks, or medical monitoring. During this time, I was checked on only once, and that check occurred only after I made repeated attempts to alert staff that I was losing circulation to my right wrist. The fear I experienced during this time-being restrained, ignored, and left without monitoring while losing circulation-was severe and terrifying. I genuinely feared for my life. The actions of the officers to restrain and isolate me were punitive in nature and no attempts at de-escalation or negotiation occurred. The action to physically restrain me was clearly not the least restrictive measure the facility could take. As a result, a real safety crisis occurred when I lost circulation in my wrist and hand which caused bruising, numbness, swelling, and persistent pain.

In addition to the use of force and unsafe restraints, the conditions of my confinement were degrading and unsanitary. I was forced to relieve myself using a hole in the ground covered by metal grates. I was menstruating at the time and bled onto the floor, which I then inadvertently came into contact with my drinking cup. When I requested a new cup due to the presence of menstrual blood, my request was refused.

At all relevant times following this incident, I was calm and was not actively resisting staff, nor was I posing an immediate threat to myself or others.

The actions described above constitute excessive force, deliberate indifference to my medical safety, denial of basic human dignity, and violations of my constitutional and civil rights.

Since the incident, I have requested from the Thurston County Correctional Facility the following information: medical logs, restraint video evidence and correctional officer reports of the incident. In the response from the jail communicated via email I was informed that Holli Stewart from the jail’s medical department would be in contact with me to fulfil my request for medical records. I was provided with copies of the documents Use of Restraints and Use of Force policies. I was informed that the video footage requested has been “located” however, “this video footage is exempt from disclosure under PRA because non-disclosure is essential to effective law enforcement”. And lastly, my request for copies of reports was prepared and ready for in person pick up at the facility.

In addition to my request for records, I emailed the Captain of the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office Corrections Bureau Todd Thoma via email and received an email response back stating, “This is to inform you that we have received your email below and are designating it as a formal Citizen’s Complaint in accordance with our policies. You will be notified of our findings once the review is completed”.

This grievance is to ensure a full, thorough and non-biased investigation will be conducted into the matter and any findings against my civil liberties will be taken seriously and with just recourse. I specifically would like the discrepancies between facility policy and actual officer actions to be paid attention to.