Jose Irizarry Settles Case against Ohio Prison Officers for Racist, Abusive Search for $72,500
Jose's lawsuit against prison officers sought justice for an abusive, harassing strip search that violated ODRC policies and Jose's constitutional rights.
Background
Based on a bad tip about drug conveyance in the prison, Ohio Department of Correction and Rehabilitation (ODRC) officer Capt. Rizzo ordered fellow officer Lt. Ring to conduct a strip search of Mr. Jose Irizarry at his bunk area, in flagrant violation of ODRC policies and the U.S. Constitution. Under the Eighth Amendment, strip searches conducted in casual view of other prisoners constitute cruel and unusual punishment: courts have long held that humiliating and unnecessarily invasive strip searches in full view of other inmates are unconstitutional.
Ring and other correctional officers approached Jose at his bunk in a dormitory. Ring told Jose that he wanted to “make an example" out of him, referring to Jose using a racial slur. Ring and two other officers then strip-searched Jose in view of over one hundred other prisoners, some of whom jeered at or threatened Jose as he was led away from his bunk. The defendant officers then subjected Jose to a urine test in view of a woman correctional officer. Like public strip searches, forcing prisoner nudity in front of officers of other genders constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the law.
Jose tested clean, and at no time following these events was he found to have engaged in any wrongdoing in relation to the bad tip or the search. Immediately afterward, Jose reported the illegal search to prison inspectors. Prison inspectors viewed the surveillance video. Prison inspectors feared that Jose might be subject to retaliation by the officers involved in the search because he reported their abuse. In order to ensure his safety, he was moved to another prison.
Approach & Resolution
Friedman, Gilbert + Gerhardstein filed a lawsuit for Jose against five prison officers employed by the Ohio Department of Correction and Rehabilitation--Michael Rizzo, Brandon Ring, William Smith, Jerrett Foster, Vincent Caizza, and Jenny Wysocki--for their roles in conducting the abusive and unconstitutional strip search.
In July 2018, Jose settled his case against them for $72,5000. He said, “I filed this lawsuit because I did not want anyone else to have to go through an experience like this. I was harassed and humiliated by these officers, who knew they were exposing me to danger when they chose to search me at my bunk. I did not deserve to be treated like this. No one deserves to be treated like this.”
“Ohio prison officers cannot be permitted to treat prisoners as less than human,” stated Jacqueline Greene, one of Mr. Irizarry’s team of lawyers at FG+G. “Prisoners are people – and like everyone else, they have fundamental rights. And yet supervising officers actively ordered and participated in blatant misconduct in violation of Mr. Irizarry’s rights. The racism and sexual harassment Mr. Irizarry endured during this search were unacceptable,” said Greene.