Many complain of being videotaped nude at police department
PUYALLUP -- A dozen people say they were violated, mistreated and videotaped at a local police station. Eleven women and one man say the treatment they received at the hands of Puyallup Police was disgusting.
A Seattle attorney representing the alleged victims submitted requests for over 100 tapes of prisoners from the Puyallup Police Department. From those tapes, several people have come forward saying they felt mistreated. Video tapes show women undressing and even using the restroom. The alleged victims spoke with Q13Fox about the allegations.
One woman said, “I turned around and spread my legs, like he asked, and he patted me down. But, when he came to my breasts, he took his time to wait a minute and feel me up a little.”
The woman went on to say, “For him to pat me down was already uncomfortable enough, and then for him to get close to your private area is more uncomfortable. And you just tense up and tense up and tense up, and then for him to stop and take his time, yah, my heart stopped.”
“Well even when I walked out of the jail, I knew it was wrong," a different woman told reporters. "But at that time, there’s only one of me and maybe it was just me. Maybe there’s some reason why there’s cameras in there, I don’t know why. But, I didn’t fight it, because I thought it was just me.”
Attorneys representing the dozen plaintiffs say these people were violated.
Julie Kays, a plaintiff’s attorney said her client's rights were violated.
“They blatantly violated our clients’ constitutional rights," Kays said. "They committed, in our opinion, the crime of voyeurism against them. They had no legitimate purpose to view the intimate parts of their body, to view them going to the bathroom. There’s absolutely no reason for them to do that.”
Puyallup Police responded to these allegations at a news conference Thursday. They say they follow the letter of the law and all procedures are done by the book.
Captain Scott Engle with the Puyallup Police Department, said filming detainees is the norm.
“When you enter a correctional institution and our job is to ensure the safety and security of that facility, your privacy interests are not as great as they are at home,” Engle said.