Investigation finds Allegheny County Jail leads state in Taser use

By Paul Van Osdol

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    PITTSBURGH (WTAE) — Action News Investigates has learned the Allegheny County Jail uses Tasers far more than any other county lockup in Pennsylvania.

A policing expert said that is a red flag that could signal other problems at the jail.

A police body camera showed Brian Estep, 29, of Allison Park, in a holding cell at the jail after being charged with DUI, simple assault and resisting arrest.

According to a lawsuit, McCandless police Officer Patrick Jennings told a fellow officer to leave the cell because that officer’s body camera was on.

“Dude, get out of here. You’ve got your (profanity) on,” Jennings told the officer.

But the other officer still recorded a jail officer stunning Estep, who was handcuffed and on the ground.

“That feels good, baby,” the jail officer said, according to the lawsuit. The jail officer was not named in the lawsuit.

Anthony Giannetti, Estep’s attorney, said he never should have been stunned while handcuffed, restrained and surrounded by four officers.

“From our perspective, it’s just an assault. That’s all it is. It’s an assault,” Giannetti said.

Jennings and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment. McCandless police Chief Ryan Hawk declined to comment.

A county spokesperson declined to comment on the suit and said all use of force incidents are reviewed by the jail.

Pitt law professor David Harris, an expert on police procedures, reviewed the Taser video.

“A person on the ground in handcuffs already restrained is no longer a threat. You don’t use a weapon on somebody in that circumstance, not a Taser and not anything else. It’s just wrong,” Harris said.

State records show it’s not unusual for Allegheny County Jail officers to use Tasers.

In 2023, Tasers were used 183 times at the jail. That’s 43 percent of Taser discharges at all county jails statewide.

“It’s certainly a red flag. It’s something that if I was running the program over there, if I was the new warden over there, I would want to know that, and I’d want to look into it,” Harris said.

Action News Investigates asked new warden Trevor Wingard about the high incidence of Taser use.

“I’m certainly going to look at why they’re using [Tasers] more than any other facility in the commonwealth. I’ll find out why and, obviously, we’ll examine that,” Wingard said.

Allegheny County refused to provide a copy of the jail’s use-of-force policy.

Asked if it was appropriate to use a Taser on someone who was restrained, Wingard said, “Without knowing the exact situation, I can’t answer that question.”

Brian Englert, the president of the Allegheny County correction officers union, said a 2021 referendum banning solitary confinement, restraint chairs and chemical agents at the jail forced greater use of Tasers.

“We’ve been handcuffed by the voters here. All our tools are gone,” Englert said. “When you have people that are engaged in a violent confrontation, you either go hands-on or use the Taser.”

However, state records show that Taser use was high even before the referendum.

In 2019, Tasers were used 146 times at the jail — half of all Taser discharges at local jails statewide.

“It could be staffing. It could be that they just don’t have enough people to do the job correctly and therefore are leaning on this particular tool in ways that they should not,” Harris said.

Records show that as of November, nearly a quarter of corrections officer positions were vacant.

Englert said the number of weapons found at the jail has increased steadily.

“It’s becoming more violent, and when you’re running into that situation and they don’t follow the orders, the Taser is going to be deployed by the sergeant or captain,” Englert said.

Even if that’s the case, Giannetti said a Taser should never be used when a suspect is restrained.

“We’re suing them directly because we’re alleging that they have an unconstitutional pattern and practice of using Tasers against handcuffed people,” Giannetti said.

Three years ago, the county settled a lawsuit filed by Kimberly Andrews, who had been hit with a Taser three times while she was incarcerated.

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