By David Hench
Portland Press Herald
PORTLAND, Ore. — The Legislature’s Criminal Justice Committee this week will review the alleged mistreatment of a Maine Correctional Center inmate last spring to ensure it is an aberration and not an ongoing practice.
Capt. Shawn Welch sprays pepper spray into the face of Maine Correctional Center inmate Paul Schlosser, who is bound in a restraint chair, June 10, 2012. Welch told an investigator that the use of pepper spray was appropriate because Schlosser, who has hepatitis C, had spit at an officer.
Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, chairman of the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee, said he received several calls from committee members after a story in this week’s Maine Sunday Telegram described how a corrections department captain pepper-sprayed an inmate bound in a restraint chair.
“My initial reaction was how appalled I was. I was really mad,” Gerzofsky said. “I’ve had issues with the use of the (restraint) chair over the years.”
“Because this is a front-page story, the committee members are going to have a lot of questions,” he said. “We’ll probably invite the department and people who would be in charge” to address the committee.
Full story: Corrections officer’s actions to be reviewed