We just received the following from Aaron Isby-Israel, long-term Indiana political prisoner who in 2018 won a civil rights lawsuit challenging indefinite solitary confinement in Indiana prisons. He was released to general population in 2019 after over 26 years in solitary confinement.
At 3:25a.m., on 1/17/20, while sleeping in my cell (G-410), I was awakened by sgt. Carter, and several other staff, who stormed in my cell. Me and my cellie was told our cell was being shook down. My cellie and i was cuffed and removed from our cell and was taken to the dayroom. I was being escorted by Sgt. Carter, who pat searched me first.this search was conducted in a sexually suggestive manner, this Sgt. Carter, started rubbing all on me, which I found to be inappropriate and unreasonable. I became irritated. Sgt. Carter then told me to strip naked, and i ask him why was i being strip searched, at 3:25 a.m. in the morning i could not have hid anything in my private area in my sleep. Sgt. Carter, did not want to hear me, he just pulled out a very large can of OC chemical agent and pointed it at my face, threatening to spray me if i did not let him see my private parts (my penis and between my buttocks). I became very disturbed by this, and I began to speak against this and demand to see Sgt. Carter’s supervisor, but he continued to threaten to spray me if i would not show him my penis and spread my cheeks. I then demanded a PREA complaint because this had turned into sexual harassment and was not about any valid or legitimate penological concern, and said visual body cavity search by Sgt. Carter was undertaken to harass and humiliate me!I was denied a PREA complaint form by Sgt. Carter. This search was not reasonable under the constitution of the united states or Indiana,there was no orifices warrant and there was no legal cause for Sgt. Carter to look up my orifices. It was not IDOC procedure to use OC or threaten me with such chemical agent because I did not want to show him my private parts. MCF has body scanning machines to use for this search? Chemical agents are only supposed to be used by a staff against an inmate if its self defense, there are witnesses that will come forward and state i was no physical threat to this staff.
The search resulted in my cell (G-410) being ransacked as well. I at first thought George Payne was behind this attack because it looked like his signature, but, I found out it was it was Sgt. Cree. Sgt. Cree was observed laughing and bragging to some white inmates about how he encourage sgt. Carter to shake my cell down at 3:25a.m., in the morning on 1/17/20, to get back at my cellie. This was a retaliatory hit because my cellie filed a grievance against Sgt. Carter. I also found out that Sgt. Carter was a chronic alcoholic and he has been arrested for several DWI’s. I do not see why Sgt. Carter is working in IDOC. This is an issue that needs to be exposed and the heat must be turned up!!!
You can support Aaron Isby-Israel by setting up an account at web.connectnetwork.com and writing to him, talking with him on the phone, and sending him money. Or you can write to him at Aaron Isby-Israel #892219, Miami CF, 3038 W 850 S, Bunker Hill, IN 46914.
