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Juvenile officer fired after pepper-spraying inmate




 

 

A Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center officer was fired this week for violating policy after pepper-spraying an unruly inmate who then chased him from his cell and beat up the officer.

A Rutherford County Juvenile Detention Center officer was fired this week for violating policy after pepper-spraying an unruly inmate who then chased him from his cell and beat up the officer.

Chase Sansing, an officer for one year, was terminated from his job by Director Lynn Duke for a safety and security breach and failing to follow protocol during the July 27 incident at the South Church Street detention center.

According to reports in Sansing’s personnel file obtained through an open records request, a sheriff’s office investigation found he didn’t use “excessive” action against the juvenile. Yet Duke opted to fire him using pepper spray on the inmate contrary to standard operating procedure, in addition to failing to call out a color code for officer assistance leading to the breach of safety and security and prematurely asking for the inmate’s cell door to be opened.

“D.O. Sansing was unable to prevent the detainee from gaining free access to the housing pod. Because D.O. Sansing hadn’t called for backup assistance, he was easily over-powered,” a report states. “Other RCJDC employees were put into a more dangerous position due to his failure to follow policy.”

The juvenile detention center contacted the state Department of Children’s Services, which is still investigating the incident, according to the report.

In addition, Sansing posted details of the incident and pictures of numerous injuries he sustained on his Facebook page, which is “contrary to expectations and rules of conduct” in the employee handbook, according to the report of action. He was ordered to remove the posts and references to his employment at the juvenile detention center.

In his statement, Sansing wrote, “I feel confident that I followed the procedure in the S.O.P. regarding the force continuum.”

The now-former detention officer told a sheriff’s office investigator in a separate statement that the inmate failed to follow his orders to step away from his cell-door window and sit down and to stop yelling and cussing at him, which caused other detainees to join in.

According to Detective Joshua Anderson’s report, videotape shows Sansing having a short conversation with the detainee after partially opening the cell door. The officer then went back and reopened the door and administered a “quick burst” of pepper spray to the detainee’s face. Video shows the detainee chasing the officer and attacking him, hitting him several times in the face and taking him to the ground.

Another officer had to pull the inmate off of Sansing, spray the detainee and cuff him.

The report shows Sansing was beaten in the head, back and right side of his face. Yet Sansing told the investigator he didn’t want to file charges against the detainee.

The juvenile told the detective he saw Sansing unsnap the strap on his pepper spray canister just before he opened the cell door. The detainee admitted chasing the officer after being sprayed and said he “blacked out” several times during the assault, from anger and not a reaction to the chemical weapon.

Detention command staff told the detective once the incident was brought under control, those involved were decontaminated based on protocol.

“I then advised Director Duke that after viewing the security video and interviewing the parties involved I did not believe D.O. Sansing’s actions were “excessive.” However, I further explained that I would not be investigating whether or not D.O. Sansing violated any Juvenile Detention policies.”

Reports also show Sansing told other officers early in the day of the incident “some can get maced” after they informed him the inmate involved hadn’t given them any problems that day.

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