Restrained

Across America, prisons use “restraint chairs” and other immobilizing body gear to prevent potentially violent inmates from doing harm to prison staff—or to themselves. But in a shocking, hour-long documentary, Hearst station KMBC in Kansas City, Missouri, revealed a pattern of abuse of these devices that resulted in more than 100 deaths or serious injuries. Gathering surveillance video, court files, and other public records over a five-year period, KMBC’s reporters uncovered autopsies blaming deaths on breathing attacks while under restraint; footage of jailers punching, tasing, and pepper-spraying shackled inmates; guards leaving restrained prisoners unattended for days without food, water, or access to bathrooms; and nearly $100 million in legal settlements paid for with taxpayer dollars. Lack of training and inattention to manufacturer warnings were also routine. In a series of follow-up stories, KMBC documented more deaths from a handcuffing technique called “folding over,” as well as the impact its reporting had across Missouri and Kansas. Fifty-five sheriffs banned tasing and pepper-spraying restrained inmates, and watching the video became part of numerous training programs. For an unflinching investigation of prison abuse that brought about needed change and has since been aired on other Hearst stations across the country, Restrained receives a Peabody Award.