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‘Very disturbing to watch’: Prison restraint video posted to social media

Two top Luzerne County officials &mdash; District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and Manager C. David Pedri &mdash; released statements Wednesday in response to a social media posting of in-prison video showing the handling of deceased inmate Shaheen Mackey.
				Salavantis said her office stands by its June 2018 investigation that found no evidence of criminal intent to harm Mackey.
				The 41-year-old Berwick man had been lodged at the prison in Wilkes-Barre about five hours on a warrant related to a protection-from-abuse petition, officials have said.
				The county District Attorney&rsquo;s Office had concluded in its own internal investigation there were no &ldquo;criminal acts or wrongdoing by any of the officers involved.&rdquo;
				Salavantis: &lsquo;Full investigation&rsquo; undertaken
				According to Salavantis&rsquo; statement:
				Her office spent a &ldquo;substantial amount of time and resources doing a full investigation&rdquo; of the incident, and federal authorities also reviewed the matter.
				The incident started when an inmate witness screamed for help and said he feared for his life because Mackey was &ldquo;violently attempting to chew and rip his fingernails off, ripping out his own hair and spitting.&rdquo; Another inmate verified that account.
				Accompanied by two medical assistants, a correctional officer responded but could not calm or restrain Mackey and lost his radio in the process, prompting the cellmate to run to the command center screaming to request help for the officer.
				According to the witnesses, seven correctional officers responded and continued to have difficulty restraining Mackey, with several noting the &ldquo;incredible&rdquo; and &ldquo;unreal&rdquo; strength exhibited by Mackey.
				Mackey was never choked or struck &ldquo;in any way by anyone.&rdquo;
				As shown in the video, the officers unsuccessfully tried to restrain Mackey for &ldquo;their safety, his safety and the safety of the medical team trying to assist.&rdquo;
				The officers were able to restrain Mackey after approximately 20 minutes, when he then appeared to &ldquo;go unresponsive,&rdquo; it said. Medical staffers were present and tried to resuscitate him. Mackey was successfully resuscitated in the ambulance but died two days later.
				Forensic pathologist Dr. Gary Ross ruled that Mackey suffered from severe coronary artery disease and developed an irregular heartbeat suddenly preventing his body from pumping sufficient blood as a result of his &ldquo;hyperexcitable physically combative state.&rdquo;
				As her office had stated before, Salavantis also noted the investigation uncovered a social media video of Mackey discussing and displaying a diagnosis he received indicating that he has &ldquo;violent tendencies&rdquo; and &ldquo;homicidal outbursts&rdquo; that have required evaluation and intervention by police or an emergency room.
				&ldquo;Unquestionably, the loss of Mackey is tragic for everyone involved,&rdquo; Salavantis wrote.
				&ldquo;Whether the episode was caused by the effects of a controlled substance &mdash; as initially, but incorrectly, believed by the officers &mdash; or by seizure as was later believed, the officers had a responsibility to attempt to restrain Mr. Mackey before he hurt himself or anyone else or before he could be given medical attention in his agitated state,&rdquo; she added.
				County Council approved a $3 million settlement to end litigation with Mackey&rsquo;s estate.
				Salavantis said the county&rsquo;s settlement of the civil action and video release did not &ldquo;affect the investigation or decision with respect to criminal charges against the corrections officers in this case.&rdquo;
				Pedri: &lsquo;It was heartbreaking&rsquo;
				In his statement, Pedri recalled his viewing of the video in June 2018.
				&ldquo;It was heartbreaking to watch the footage inside of LCCF, and to subsequently learn of Mr. Mackey&rsquo;s tragic passing. As soon as we learned of the incident, we referred the matter to the District Attorney,&rdquo; Pedri wrote.
				Pedri also noted the county and prison have &ldquo;taken a number of steps&rdquo; since the incident, including implementation of:
				&#8226; More thorough medical screening upon intake.
				&#8226; Increased training for corrections officers around detecting and responding to inmate medical episodes.
				&#8226; Enhanced reporting protocols.
				&ldquo;We are also consistently reviewing internal LCCF regulations for other additional prospective changes,&rdquo; Pedri said.
				Further comment would not be appropriate because the matter is still subject to ongoing litigation, Pedri said.

Pedri, Salavantis weigh in on inmate video release