HomeTop StoriesBernalillo County jail official accused of overseeing attacks on mentally ill inmates

Bernalillo County jail official accused of overseeing attacks on mentally ill inmates

Oct. 25 – An officer at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center is accused of orchestrating shower attacks on two mentally ill inmates and spraying a man’s genitals with mace over a two-week period in July.

Nathan Shpiller, an MDC corrections officer, has been on paid administrative leave since the allegations came to light.

Bruce Davis and Jeffrey Sandoval, the inmates who made the accusations against Shpiller, find themselves in a yearlong cycle of incarceration and homelessness as they battle mental health issues.

A few inmates involved in the alleged attacks corroborated elements of the case against Shpiller. His fellow corrections officers said they saw no wrongdoing.

Davis, 66, and Sandoval, 61, told investigators they were not given medical treatment after the alleged incidents, despite complaints of injuries.

Johanna Sandoval, Jeffrey Sandoval’s mother, said the allegations, if true, are “terrible.” She said her son has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and requires daily medication.

Relatives of Davis, who has been found incompetent to stand trial in several minor cases, could not be located.

A Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office detective investigated the alleged incidents and transferred the case to the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review and possible prosecution.

BCSO spokeswoman Jayme Gonzales said the district attorney told their detective he could issue Shpiller a criminal summons for aggravated battery, “as the case did not amount to a felony.”

She said that before issuing a summons, the detective was told to consult with MDC “to ensure that the suspect/officer’s actions were not something he had been trained to do by MDC.” Gonzales said the corrections officer has requested some of the jail’s training materials to review and that “that process is currently underway.”

Shpiller, who has not been charged, declined to comment for this article.

According to a BCSO incident report, “While reviewing surveillance footage, several inmates were observed assaulting other inmates while under the supervision of CO Shpiller.”

See also  The FBI raids Polymarket CEO's home and seizes phone and electronics, NY Post reports

The report, obtained by the Journal through an Inspection of Public Records Act request, details three separate incidents involving Shpiller between July 13 and 27.

When the BCSO detective investigating the case attempted to interview Shpiller in early August, Shpiller responded in a text message: “My legal counsel advises me not to grant you an interview.”

MDC spokeswoman Candace Hopkins said Shpiller remains on leave “pending the outcome of an internal investigation.” She said he was hired in November 2022.

The allegations are the latest controversy at the facility, which in recent years has seen a series of deaths involving inmate detoxification, successive erroneous inmate releases, a former warden who resigned under unknown circumstances and multiple officers who were fired or were on leave. in several incidents – including a use-of-force incident that left an inmate dead.

Hopkins declined to answer several questions about the allegations against Shpiller, citing the ongoing internal investigation into the case, which reportedly took place in a pod housing a combination of detoxing inmates and people with mental illness.

Complaints

According to the BCSO incident report:

On July 30, an MDC lieutenant told BCSO that Sandoval had filed a complaint against Shpiller and that supervisors were reviewing footage of the three incidents.

“Because CO Shpiller was the supervising CO at the time of each of these incidents, there was concern that he could have permitted or orchestrated the two incidents involving the inmates in the shower room,” the report said.

In the first incident, on July 13, footage showed Shpiller repeatedly pointing his mace spray into the food port of Davis’ cell. At one point, Davis, who was naked, pointed his genitals toward the food port.

Minutes later, Davis was seen washing his genitals as other inmates walked past his door and “appeared to be laughing at him.” Davis told BCSO that he used feces to write a vulgar message on the cell window and Shpiller became angry and told him to “clean it up with his mouth.”

See also  Long Island community remembers American-Israeli IDF soldier Omer Neutra

BCSO said Davis told them Shpiller then sprayed his genitals with mace and “it hurt a lot.” An inmate who also worked as an orderly in the pod told BCSO he saw Shpiller try to hide his mace from the camera as he shot it.

On July 15, Davis was led to the showers by Shpiller and after Shpiller walked away, two inmates were seen taking a shower with cleaning supplies in their hands. BCSO said Davis told them the two sprayed him with cleaning spray and hit him with a broom, all while expressing frustration with him for “keeping them up at night.”

One of the inmates in the alleged attack told BCSO he “thought it was strange” that Shpiller didn’t check on Davis for half an hour while the attack was happening and then told him “not to say anything about this.”

On July 27, Shpiller led Sandoval, who was handcuffed behind his back, to the shower and left the area. Three inmates were seen entering the area and drawing the curtain before poking and beating Sandoval with broomsticks for several minutes.

Sandoval told BCSO Shpiller left him handcuffed and had him turn on the water with his nose and grab a bar of soap with his teeth. Sandoval said three inmates showed up and attacked him with brooms, and afterward Shpiller said “something to the effect of teaching him a lesson.”

One of the inmates who attacked Sandoval told BCSO that Shpiller said “if something were to happen… he wouldn’t be able to hear it” and, in the previous attack on Davis, he said they needed to “show Davis a lesson.” . .”

See also  Yankees beat Guardians in Game 5 to advance to the World Series for the 41st time

The inmate told BCSO he believed Sandoval and Davis were targeted because they “were not all there” and would not be taken seriously. He said he was “unsure about Shpiller’s tactics” but that Shpiller “gets quite agitated when he is allowed to use force.”

Two other inmates at the attacks told BCSO that they did what they did because Sandoval called them racial slurs, but that the incidents were initiated by Shpiller.

Three of Shpiller’s fellow officers told BCSO they were unaware of the attacks and did not see any foul play, although one said Sandoval’s handcuffs should have been removed before showering and that they would not have used mace to hit Davis threaten, as Shpiller did.

Johanna Sandoval said she last saw her son a few weeks ago. He was stabilized with medication and lived in an extended-stay motel.

She said her son has struggled with mental health issues for a decade and it has been difficult to find him stable support or a facility for him to go to. When things go badly, he ends up in a cell, rather than ending up in a mental institution like the University of New Mexico Hospital, which is often full.

Johanna Sandoval said that when her son calls from jail, he is often “very erratic” and she can tell he hasn’t taken his medication.

“For whatever reason, they jail people who are mentally ill instead of putting them in an institution. And that’s not the place for them. It really isn’t. And they don’t get their medications, and they don’t get the help they need, and then things spiral out of control,” she said.

- Advertisement -
RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular

Recent Comments