Allegheny County Council mulls permitting leg shackles when inmates are taken to hospitals, medical appointments

Allegheny County Jail corrections officers may be allowed to use leg shackles when taking incarcerated people to medical appointments if county council approves a measure repealing a portion of the existing ban on such restraints.

The measure, introduced to council Wednesday, would not completely revoke the prohibition on leg shackles.

It would allow them to be used only when transporting incarcerated people outside the jail for hospital visits and medical appointments when a supervisor “assesses a risk of escape or a risk of injury to the individual or others,” according to the legislation.

Leg shackles would have to be removed once there is no longer a risk of escape or injury.

The measure would still bar leg shackles within the jail or as a form of punishment.

Correctional staff would be required to check with the person whose legs are being restrained to check for comfort and security, the bill says.

If council approves the measure, the warden will be tasked with compiling a monthly report detailing how often leg shackles are used, the duration of and reason for each use, how often the same person’s legs are shackled in a single month and the age, sex, gender identity, race and ethnicity of anyone who is restrained in such a manner.

Council is taking up the issue after Brian Englert, president of the union representing corrections officers, pushed for such a change. He gathered signatures from 1,044 voters on a petition supporting the measure.

The bill was referred to council’s committee on public safety Wednesday.

Leg shackles were prohibited in the jail when voters in 2021 approved a referendum banning such restraints, as well as the use of solitary confinement.

The prohibition on leg shackles during medical visits, Englert said, has led to 14 escape attempts in the past 16 months.

The 2021 referendum, he told county council members Wednesday, led to a “sharp rise” in attempted escapes during medical appointments.

“This creates a serious public safety risk for our communities, hospital staff, other inmates and corrections officers,” Englert said.

According to Englert, Allegheny County Jail corrections officers are the only ones in Pennsylvania prohibited from using leg shackles.

The referendum that barred their use, he said, focused primarily on solitary confinement and conditions within the jail. Voters did not see specific language on their ballots about leg shackles for medical appointments outside the facility.

“The unintended impact of this political issue created a dangerous public safety issue,” Englert said.

The county’s Jail Oversight Board this summer recommended a study analyzing the feasibility of shifting hospital transport responsibilities from jail corrections officers to the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office.

Should that happen, the deputies would be able to use leg shackles because they were not subject to the 2021 referendum that banned them.

But Englert said that would be an imperfect solution that would cost more, demand additional shifts for sheriffs at the jail and require negotiations among several unions.