Posted by Nora Callahan - February 28, 2009 at 4:50 pm
During a weekend wander to my favorite haunts, in the Daily Kos I found an update to a story out of Ohio that caught my interest in 2006 when it first became news. The irony for me was finding this update while taking a break from studying The Trauma of Psychological Torture. I watched the Stark County Police Officers forcefully, but methodically stripping Hope Steffey to naked, and her screams still echo in my head. So does the thrust of the message in the book I'm studying.
Forced nakedness is one way to break-down a prisoner, and Cleveland Police authorities have denied that this was a strip search of Hope Steffey. Perhaps it's part of their protocol for subduing an unsubmissive "prisoner." I'd have to wonder because I'd just read that this tactic was developed in US and Canandian Unniversites through grants via the C.IA., techniques that have been honed since the early 1950's. Stripping a prisoner, and leaving them in the dark for hours is part of Psycological Torture as reported Almerindo E. Ojeda, editor of The Trauma of Psychological Torture (linked above). The police officers, male and female, black and white appeared methodical, practiced.
In the United States of America, it is not deemed torture if it doesn't leave physical scars. It's decided in our Unniversities, taught to our soldiers, after war they are recruited by scores of assorted domestic law enforcement agencies and then comes a woman named Hope.
If we close Gitmo, but leave all forms of identifyable psycological torture in place -- hope dies.
Hope Steffey before the night she was compelled to call the police for help is gone. The new Hope Steffey will emerge in time and my hope is she'll somehow take comfort that her experience ended a terrible era of brutal policing in America.
Biography Co-founder of the US based November Coalition in 1997, she is the group's executive director. The coalition publishes The Razor Wire, and is the 'voice of the drug war prisoner.'
Submitted March 1, 2009 - 7:23 pm by John (not verified)
Editor, I have that link before, but I am not sure how well researched it is, and I think some of it is speculation.
I have been looking into this case for a year now since it went national in February 2008.
For instance this article says it’s a wonder Steffey didn’t suffer a concussion, but I have the court transcripts, and she testifies that she DID go to a hospital after she was released and she WAS diagnosed with a concussion.
The change of colored blankets they refer to is when they did the “mat change”. The TV station edited out the camera operator deliberately swinging the camera away from Steffey while the male deputies were doing something to her. When the camera comes back they have her legs forced up against her butt. I have not been able to get anyone to say exactly what was happening.
Also the third “man” on the left, that they refer to, is actually a woman. There were 5 women there and 3 men, and yet Swanson says he doesn’t have enough women to do a “suicide prevention”. Even though a strip search, or cavity search, HAS to be same sex, by law. So HOW do they do those if he claims to not have enough women???
It’s all BS!!
Also the beginning of this video had been asked for by the news & lawyers for THREE MONTHS. I called the sheriff’s dept to see if it was ever going to be released, and they said it would be during discovery.
So you can imagine my surprise when 2 months later, during the grand jury investigation, they THEN claimed that the beginning of the video didn’t exist!!
I also found that the Sheriff’s dept conspired to keep information away from the grand jury investigators.
All I can say is that it must be great to be in control of all the evidence against you.
Submitted March 1, 2009 - 7:38 am by John (not verified)
Sorry Nora, but you had better give the Stark County jail a call, I have.
Talk to Chief Mike McDonald; ask him if this policy of having men strip women has been stopped. (You can TRY to contact the sheriff, good luck with that!!)
I can tell you right now, you won’t get a straight answer. I have never gotten a straight answer from anyone in the sheriff’s dept.
The answer to the yes or no question I got was, “We will do whatever we have to, to save someone’s life.”
In other words, they are still at it.
Or at least they could be, who knows, these people have been able to stop or withhold evidence that would make them look bad, while at the same time releasing any that puts them in a better light.
The nurse interview video is a great example. The sheriff releases a short bit of audio that has been HIGHLY edited and enhanced.
This is the video that they claim Steffey admitted she was suicidal, the only problem is, she is being sarcastic, NOT suicidal. (And I hope the sheriff’s dept doesn’t try telling me it’s not anyone’s job there to know the difference.)
I called and requested a copy of that tape that was UNEDITED, I told them I was going to enhance the whole thing, to show it up for the ‘manufactured’ evidence it was.
I was then informed that it was a medical record and they couldn’t release it.
BUT THEY HAD ALREADY RELEASED IT TO THE NEWS PAPERS!!
(This is the same excuse the sheriff used, in not releasing information, in the other lawsuit against him.)
There have been FIVE women come forward with the same claims of abuse, including a woman that WORKS in corrections.
And this doesn’t count the three teen girls that were strip searched in Stark County.
This case by the way has been settled out of court for $300,000.
The sheriff’s dept investigated and AGAIN no one was charged.
How do you pay out that kind of money and then claim nothing was done wrong?
Just another Stark County mystery.
Sheriff Swanson first said when the Steffey story went national, that he would not comment till after the grand jury investigation, and then “all the facts would come out”.
But he had to KNOW that any information given to the grand jury is not supposed to be released.
And now he is saying that he won’t comment, until Steffey’s lawsuit is over, and again he is saying that “all the facts will come out”.
Except that he KNOWS this is NEVER going to a trial, so no “facts” will ever come out.
There is no way they can take this into court, there’s just TOO many conflicting versions, TOO much evidence "missing", a MONTHS long "investigation" that leaves too many questions, and too many illogical explanations for everything that was done.
The trial started out in December of last year, then was set for May, and now its rescheduled for July.
So apparently the lawyers & the county’s insurance company can’t agree on a number to keep this out of court. I was told they are in negotiations.
Stark County Sheriff's Office
(330)/430-3800
strkshrf@raex.com
Stark County Prosecutor
John D. Ferrero
Telephone: (330) 451-7897
The Correctional Health Care Group, Inc.
Jonathan Stump
Chief Executive Officer
330-454-6766
chcg@neo.1run.com
Special Prosecutions Ohio Attorney General
Paul Scarsella, Section Chief
Bridget Carty
614-644-0729, FAX: 614-466-6172
Bureau of Adult Detention
614-752-1062 Butch Hunyadi
Richard DeHeer,
Stark County Family Court Administrator
(330) 451-7413 or rgdeheer@co.stark.oh.us
Ohio Governor Strickland
General Info: (614) 466-3555
Attorney General of the United States
AskDOJ@usdoj.gov
Department of Justice Main Switchboard - 202-514-2000
Office of the Attorney General - 202-353-1555
I can see why they never tried to convict her of the assault too. Since Scott is not the one that called 911. Leanne's brother is the one that actually reported the assault, and called police ON HIS OWN SISTER, at Steffey's request. (BTW he never showed up at the trial to testify.)
The arresting cop, Richard T. Gurlea Jr., testified at Steffey's trial that the 'investigation' into the assault was never finished. (REALLY?!!? Then HOW are they charging her?!?!?)
We have Steffey's cousin, on tape, telling Steffey that the officer has to KNOW that none of this was her fault, while the officer is within listening distance.
Plus we have the other witnesses that said Steffey was the one attacked. The cop has them all looking for Steffey hair that was ripped out. Even the officer testified at court that he went to his cruiser to get a camera to document Steffey's injuries, there seems to be no “confusion” about who was the victim like the papers claim. And he is recorded on TAPE telling Steffey that he will still 'investigate' her assault even as he has her in his car, so what happened? This report SHOWS what happened, the cops KNEW that it was ALL BS!!
Since they are all trying to railroad the VICTIM of the assault!
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The State Torture of Hope Steffey
Submitted March 1, 2009 - 1:11 am by editor (not verified)