My job shows no support but?

I work for a jail and deal with criminals. I had an incident w/ an inmate who flicked a small object at me, so I went and restrained him. I am being punished by admin. Because they said they did not see anything was thrown at me when reviewed the blurry/long distance camera views.
I am being charged and is waiting for a hearing. I am upset because my admin. Shows no support. I hope I don鈥檛 get bad records in my file because it would put a negative impact when I go for policing positions.

Hello Jim. Ornery and Mean above me has the right idea.

I am supposing you have a union at work. Contact your shop steward.

I work in a max prison and we deal with this on a daily basis. The current administration is so politically correct that our hands are tied. They state inmates are expected to behave badly, but as the professionals in the equation, we are expected to show restraint. Somewhere along the way, our safety is forgotten and now the criminals have all the rights, the victim's rights are forgotten and we dont count.

From what I am reading, is Admin claiming nothing was thrown at you at all or are they claiming excessive force in the restraint? If (as I see it), nothing was thrown, it is your word on this, but that does count.

Get the union involved immediately if you have not done so yet. I dont care what your use of force jacket looks like or how thick it is. Given the circumstances as stated, you acted correctly in restraining. The only contention I could see would be the level you had to take the restraint to.

I work in a Seperation Unit in my max prison. We get all the rejects that come out of Seg. I am the one regular Officer assigned there but I have had up to 5 other Officers working with me on a daily basis when it gets out of hand. I have had more uses of force in the last three months than I have had in the last 10 years. (Five of them yesterday in one shift). Although I have been (and am currently) under investigation for excessive force, I have never been found guilty of malfeasance.

One piece of advice. Get a copy of your use of force continuum. Read it and know it front to back. If nothing else, when you write your report, use the correct terminology. Even when your actions are correct, stating that you "grabbed" someone can burn you. You "guided" them, "assisted" them or "led" them.

"I used an arm bar technique to restrain the inmate and completed my handcuffing technique". This would be typical of a written report. The other item would be to make sure you state that you ATTEMPTED to use a technique. If I am restraining an inmate with an armbar and he continues to resist, I have never broken an inmate's arm. He broke it by resisting and trying to get out of it, twisting himself until he did the damage to himself. This is what your union people can help you with. I am also a Use of Force Instructor for my institution which was the main reason I was placed in our Seperation Unit.

Overall, I fully understand and sympathise with your situation. It is impossible to do your job correctly when Admin has you under a microscope. I cant give any help in that area other than to state that you watch your own back, make sure you are not excessive in your actions (especially when you are on camera) and to write your reports using correct terminology.

Best of luck and I do seriously hope this can be of some use for you.

You have a union ... right? That union has a shop steward in your facility ... right? This is a no brainer! Your union (through the local shop steward) is supposed to help protect your rights in any employment based dispute.

Get with your union's shop steward ... and see if the union will help pay for a lawyer!

WHAT! Inmates don't have rights.
They commit a crime and if they flick something at a guard, and that guard restrains him for it then too bad.
He's in prison, he is treated like he's in prison. That's life!
Tell them what exactly happened and if you were being violent restraining him then maybe you should restrain him in a more "polite" fashion next time....

Was the object dangerous? Was it bodily fluid? Sounds like you went a little too wacky on the inmate. Yes he's a criminal but you have to have discretion. You should have shrugged it off. Was he a danger to himself, you or other? Then there was no need to restrain him. It is almost an excessive force case. State your case, have a union rep with you, and thats the best I can tell you.

I can understand how you are angry. He is a POS criminal. However, you are law enforcement and despite being in a prison, you have to conduct yourself in a professional manner. You have restrictions and protocol that you have to follow. Criminals do not. Letting them get under your skin is letting them win. Articulate the facts to them, apply it to rules and protocol in your SOPs. If you were in the right, prove it to them.

I am glad to hear that you are getting what a lot of cops should be getting. If you are guilty you should be loose your job and put in jail for using excessive force.