Allegheny County Jail warden defends militaristic training contracts

Allegheny County Jail Warden Orlando Harper on Wednesday defended his decision to enter into no-bid contracts for militaristic training and weapons to counter this spring’s referendum banning restraint chairs, chemical agents and leg shackles at the jail.

His six-page news release came on the eve of the monthly Jail Oversight Board meeting, at which a motion seeking to prohibit one of those contractors from performing training is expected to come up for a vote.

The jail and county administration have come under fire over the last month as advocates for those incarcerated have criticized the need for militaristic training and weaponry at the facility, which primarily holds pre-trial detainees.

Harper said he recommended the no-bid contracts, which total more than $400,000 and were approved on July 27, in response to the referendum.

“It is my professional opinion, the prohibition against the use of chemical agents will result in more injuries, more confrontations, more safety issues and that those incidents will continue to escalate,” Harper said in the release. “Our correctional staff are already working in extraordinary circumstances, but a lack of tools and resources will put their safety and well-being in jeopardy.”

The contract that has drawn the most ire is with a company named C-SAU, or Corrections Special Applications Unit. It calls for the company to provide equipment for 16 “operators,” including weapon accessory and optic kits, as well as “high risk corrections special operations & mitigation program and services.”

The mitigation program, the contract said, addresses violent mentally ill inmates.

The company, run by Joseph Garcia, bills itself as the “nation’s only full service, High Risk Corrections Special Operations Mitigation Unit.” It is known for responding to prison riots.

In the weeks since the contracts came to light, jail advocates have found information they find concerning about Garcia and C-SAU.

Among their findings, according to the Abolitionist Law Center, are that C-SAU uses incarcerated people as targets during training. He espouses violence, they say, as outlined in an article in Tactical Life last year where he is seen dressed in military gear, using weaponry, running from helicopters, and working with giant schnauzer dogs he uses in his company.

The Abolitionist Law Center last week sent a letter to the county solicitor notifying him that they would file a federal lawsuit if the contracts were not rescinded.

Bethany Hallam, an at-large county councilwoman and member of the Jail Oversight Board, said on Wednesday a motion would be introduced Thursday to prohibit C-SAU from performing training at the jail.

“It’s disgusting and scary, and folks are going to get hurt,” she said.

In his news release, Harper defended the contract with Garcia, writing that he was vetted through the National Crime Information Center. His firm has been given access to provide training at 66 other facilities, including 52 law enforcement agencies and 14 departments of correction across 35 states and seven other countries.

Harper said his statement was in response “to criticism and false information from the board and the public.”

“As the warden of this jail, it is my responsibility to administer policies, programs and personnel operations, but the job is much more complex than that. Ultimately, the safety and health of inmates and staff falls to me,” he said. “One of my biggest frustrations is how little is understood about the operation of this facility, and how well-intentioned efforts have significant, and sometimes negative consequences.”

Harper said that the methods used by C-SAU that have been highlighted by jail advocates in recent weeks are not what will be used at Allegheny County Jail.

“The facility is not using pepper spray, bean bag projectiles or dogs, to name just a few,” Harper said in the release. “The training being provided is very specific to the needs of the Allegheny County Jail.

“Contrary to reports about the training in the facility, exercises are neither menacing nor intimidating.”

C-SAU members wear gray uniforms and do not wear helmets, though they do have protective gear as they walk through the jail, he said. They also carry handcuffs, tasers and rescue items, including a first aid kit.

Harper said that the eight-week program is providing staff “the most advanced training” and skills and tools to “de-escalate as well as recognize individuals suffering from mental health crisis, drug, and alcohol crisis and behavioral management problems.”

In the release, Harper said that the vast majority of people incarcerated at the jail are compliant.

“It is a last resort, and an option that is discouraged but sometimes necessary,” he said.

Entering into a contract with C-SAU, he said, will help jail staff in dealing with those incidents.

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Conflicting use-of-force statistics

Harper said that force will only be used to move an inmate if all other de-escalation options have failed.

He said there were only nine cell extractions in 2018 and 2019, five in 2020 and none so far this year.

However, his release does not address statistics provided by the state Department of Corrections which showed Allegheny County Jail having the highest incidence of use of force of all facilities in the state in 2019, with 720.

Jaclyn Kurin, an attorney with the Abolitionist Law Center, was highly critical of Harper’s news release.

“Warden Harper’s self-serving publicly released statement contains many provable falsehoods and outright misrepresentations and distortions about Joseph Garcia, his militaristic training, and ACJ’s history and practice of using force at the jail,” she said. “The truth is that corrections experts and multiple lawsuits have demonstrated that Garcia does not teach de-escalation and that his militaristic trainings have led to violations of correctional standards and federal laws, and caused grievous bodily harm.”

Kurin’s group is now investigating claims against the county for conspiracy to violate the civil rights of those incarcerated at the jail, which Garcia teaches are the officers’ enemies.

“All Harper and Garcia have as proof of their claims is ‘Take my word. You should believe me because I say so,’ ” she said. “But there is no reason to believe them. Garcia has repeatedly lied about his employment history, and credible reports show he has a violent criminal record as well.”

Hallam, too, said Harper was unable to discount any of the claims circulating about Garcia.

“I trust the evidence and the facts and not baseless assertions by Warden Harper,” Hallam said.