Gig Harbor, Wash. – In a video that has sparked widespread outrage online, corrections officers at the Washington Corrections Center for Women (WCCW) were forced to physically restrain a female inmate who slipped out of her handcuffs, refused orders, and allegedly swung at staff during a confrontation, only to face disciplinary action for how they deployed pepper spray.
The September 2024 incident, captured on video and later reviewed by state investigators, began as an argument over shower scheduling. The inmate, dressed in an orange jumpsuit, managed to slip free from her restraints, ignored repeated commands to comply, and became physically aggressive toward officers, according to reports.
seattletimes.com
Officers tackled the resistant inmate and pinned her face down on a table. Two staff members then deployed pepper spray at close range – within inches of her face – after she continued to resist. The inmate was heard screaming and claiming she couldn't breathe following the spray.
While the video shows a chaotic and dangerous situation for the officers involved, Washington state officials focused their scrutiny on protocol violations rather than the inmate's behavior. Department of Corrections policy reportedly requires pepper spray to be deployed from more than three feet away. Investigators from the Office of Corrections Ombuds determined the close-range application violated guidelines for what they described as a "preplanned use of force," where de-escalation should have been prioritized.
In response, the department counseled the involved officers, reassigned a supervisor, mandated enhanced training on use-of-force protocols, and announced that future incidents would undergo centralized review. Critics argue the response prioritizes bureaucratic rules over the real-world safety of prison staff tasked with maintaining order among dangerous individuals.
The incident comes amid broader concerns about safety and policies in Washington state's correctional system, including ongoing debates over inmate housing and use-of-force standards in facilities like WCCW in Gig Harbor.
Video footage of the event has fueled online discussions questioning whether progressive criminal justice reforms have left corrections officers hamstrung when dealing with non-compliant inmates.
