Inmate suing jail officials for allegedly taking photos of her genitals, threatening to tase her

IL file photo

An inmate who alleges jail officers took photos of her genitals and threatened to tase her without provocation is suing those officers and the Henry County sheriff for constitutional violations.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed the lawsuit Wednesday in the Indiana Southern District Court on behalf of the inmate, Stacy Smith.

Smith was placed in the Henry County Jail after suffering from an acute mental health crisis in February 2023. She has been diagnosed with generalized anxiety, depression, major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

According to the complaint, Smith’s mother called the police after she attempted self-harm by cutting her wrists. The police escorted Smith to a local hospital for mental health evaluation.

While her mental health condition continued to deteriorate, Smith was arrested and detained due to an interaction with a hospital staff member.

Corrections officers Lisa Armstrong and Megan Olsen placed Smith in the jail’s restraint chair upon her arrival. Smith could only move her head while in the chair and was told that she was required to remain there on suicide watch until the jail’s mental health practitioner made her weekly visit in three days.

Smith’s hands were freed from the restraints only to allow her to eat three meals a day. She was also removed from the chair for about 15 minutes every two hours to move her body and take restroom breaks, when she was escorted by an officer to a private restroom.

On her second day in the chair, Smith started her period. That required more visits to the restroom, and she perceived that the staff were annoyed by it.

Smith was taken out of the chair on her third day to attend her initial appearance in court. When she returned, she was strapped back into the chair.

Later that afternoon, a corrections sergeant offered Smith the option to be moved to a padded cell, and Smith agreed.

However, the cell did not have a toilet, sink or fixed bed and contained only one piece of bedding similar to a sleeping bag. Also, a video camera was affixed to the ceiling in the upper corner of the cell to facilitate suicide watch for inmates in serious mental health distress.

Smith was escorted into the cell by Armstrong and jail employee Lacey Doe.

Doe told Smith she was required to change into a suicide smock, which is a sleeveless gown-like garment that closes using velcro. She also informed Smith that she would not be allowed to wear underwear but would instead be required to wear a diaper.

Smith asked to be escorted to the restroom so that she could remove a tampon, but Doe refused.

Instead, Doe instructed Smith to undress and remove her underwear, including a used pad. There was no trash receptacle in the cell, so she placed the pad on the ground. Doe also instructed Smith to remove the tampon, which she also placed on the ground.

All this was done while facing the camera.

Smith was then given a suicide smock to wear despite the velcro closure not being functional, as well as an adult diaper. She went to sleep almost immediately.

Later, when she woke up, Smith heard Officer Couch, whose first name was not listed in the complaint, discussing what Smith came to realize was an image or images of her genitals, apparently taken using the video camera. They specifically discussed watching her take out her tampon.

The complaint states, “On information and belief, Officer Couch and/or other corrections officers used the surveillance camera in Ms. Smith’s padded cell to zoom in on and to take a still image of her vagina. There was certainly no penological justification or purpose for these actions.”

Smith could hear but not see a number of officers discussing the appearance of her genitals and making demeaning and degrading comments.

Smith repeatedly shouted from her cell asking that the staff members stop looking at and sharing the image, but the staff members continued their commentary and discussions. At one point, an officer shouted back to her to stop yelling.

Throughout the conversations that Smith overheard, she understood that Olsen, a newly hired officer, had not “yet” deployed her taser against an inmate. She heard Couch and Lieutenant Vargas offering Olsen money to do so. The officers formed a “pool” of money that ultimately reached $250.

Couch, Olsen and Vargas knew Smith heard the threats because she repeatedly shouted from her cell in response to the efforts to persuade Olsen to tase her.

Olsen responded, “I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to make you cry.” A male officer then yelled, “Are you ready, you dumb b****.”

Smith was huddled in the corner of the cell.

Over the next several hours, Olsen would walk in front of the cell. When she approached, a currently unknown officer or officers would partially open the cell door.

Ultimately, Olsen did not tase Smith.

After 12 hours in the padded cell, Smith was released. She was never seen by a mental health professional in the jail.

“The defendants’ conduct constituted a pattern of harassment intended to cause Ms. Smith psychological and physical harm,” the complaint states.

It alleges the actions of the defendants violated Smith’s Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches, her 14^th Amendment due process right to be free from conditions that amount to “punishment,” and her equal protection right to be free from gender-based discrimination.

“The circumstances and conditions in which Ms. Smith suffered in the Henry County Jail were grossly inappropriate, particularly given the mental health crisis which led to her confinement,” Stevie Pactor, an attorney with the ACLU of Indiana, said in a news release. “The actions against Ms. Smith by jail officials were unprovoked, humiliating, and caused severe psychological pain.”

The complaint requests a jury trial and declaratory judgment, plus the award of nominal, compensatory and punitive damages as well as her costs and attorney fees.

Counsel for the defendants was not listed at Indiana Lawyer deadline.

The case is Stacy Smith v. Officer Lisa Armstrong, Officer Couch, Officer Megan Olsen, Lieutenant Vargas, Lacey Doe, and Officer John Doe 1, in their individual capacities, Henry County Sheriff, in his official capacity, 1:24-cv-213.