Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board member calls for investigations into reports of corrections officer's 'racist' tattoo
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A member of the Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board is calling for an investigation into reports a jail corrections officer has a tattoo depicting the lynching of a Black baby.
The allegation against an unnamed corrections officer came up in Thursday night's meeting and has sparked a controversy on the board.
The jail says it's not aware of any such corrections officer or any such tattoo, but in court filings, two inmates alleged inappropriate treatment from an officer who has a lynching scene on his arm.
Amid allegations of poor health care and harsh treatment of inmates comes an even more stunning allegation: a corrections officer some inmates claim is racist, sporting a tattoo depicting the lynching of a Black child.
"Several people said there is a C.O. there with a lynching scene tattooed on his arm," said Tanisha Long.
According to a court filing in a class action suit against the jail administration, two inmates say they've seen it. One said, "There are some good COs, but others are very prejudiced; they pick on you for your tattoos; but officers have tattoos, too, like the tattoo on one officer's forearm showing a lynching."
Another inmate says: "one CO is a racist, he has a tattoo of a Black baby hanging from a tree."
In a statement, the jail said it had no knowledge of a corrections officer with an offensive tattoo, saying, "There is no specific jail policy concerning tattoos; however ... any such concern or issue should be sent to the attention of the administration and will be addressed immediately and appropriately."
But board member Bethany Hallam called for an immediate investigation.
"If there is a guard walking around with white supremacist tattoos on them, absolutely that should be thoroughly investigated. How that is even a question that is up for debate is beyond me," Hallam said.
Board members asked that the jail adopt a policy suggesting the tattoo be covered by long sleeves but common pleas judge and board chairman Elliot Howsie said they are protected speech and the officer can't be fired.
"As reprehensible as that tattoo would be, the one that was previously mentioned about the noose -- reprehensible -- but every person, even that person, has a First Amendment right to freedom of speech and so they're permitted to wear whatever they want on their body. You cannot terminate a person because they choose to put an inappropriate tattoo on their body," Howsie said.
Hallam disagreed.
"Staff members of the jail being punished for the color of their hair, staff members of the jail being punished for wearing a rainbow pride mask during the pandemic, and yet when it comes to racist white supremacist tattoos, the jail isn't willing to do anything about it and that's disgusting," Hallam said.
Brian Englert, the president of the jail guards union, defended the professionalism of the corrections officers and said the reports are not true, or he would have known about it.