Joe DeMore

The Butler County Prison board on Tuesday approved four new policies.

They cover Taser use, gender classification and housing, “dry cell” searches and the prison’s CERT team. Before this, the prison did not have policies on these topics in place.

“These are four big ones that I thought we really needed in place,” said Warden Joe DeMore.

The Taser policy says that the use of the Taser is not meant to be a substitute for deadly force, and that misuse of Tasers will result in discipline up to and including termination.

When using a Taser, the policy says that officers should target the back from the shoulders down or the front of the body from just above the belt line down. The policy says the head, face, throat and groin should not be targeted.

Only one Taser can be deployed on a person, according to the policy.

Before deployment, the officer has to notify on-scene officers that they are going to use the Taser. If the deployment could endanger the inmate or any officers or civilians, the officer should announce “Taser, Taser, Taser” before deploying it.

After firing the Taser, the use of the weapon should stop once the inmate is restrained or complies. If needed, medical personnel will come to the scene to check out the inmate. Photographs are to be taken of the impact sites, and the officer who uses it must complete a use of force report.

The gender policy establishes procedures on the treatment of inmates who are transgender, transsexual, intersex or gender variant.

Under the policy, an inmate in processing whose gender identity is different from their sex will be interviewed by the shift commander to help determine the gender and will be placed in protective custody during processing.

Once processing is finished, these inmates should be placed in protective custody for no more than 72 hours. During that time, the prison’s treatment department will assess them for housing assignment.

During assessment, the department will determine if the inmate can be housed in the general population in a pod consistent with their gender identity. The assessment also may consider whether the inmate will need to be placed in protective custody for safety. The department will ask the inmate about their safety or vulnerability in the general population.

These inmates also will be given the opportunity to shower separately from other inmates. Inmates who received hormone treatments before incarceration may continue to do so, and inmates who were not receiving but wish to receive such treatment may do so with medical authorization.

The “dry cell” policy regulates the use of cells without toilets for inmates suspected of carrying contraband in their bodies. When they defecate, officers will search the feces for contraband.

The CERT team policy defines the size, composition and procedures for the team, which is used during inmate extractions and riot-type situations.