LORAIN COUNTY — The Lorain County Sheriff’s Office has implemented a new prisoner control device in the courtroom after an attack that left two officers injured.
The device called “Band-it” is an electronic prisoner control device that delivers 50,000 volts of electricity through an inmate’s body, roughly the same amount as a taser, according to our CBS news partner, WOIO.
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The courtroom attack occurred last June, when a Lorain County judge sentenced Andrew Davison to up to 15 years in prison for attempted murder.
“He turned around and said, ‘You’re going to have to kill me, I ain’t going to jail,’ and the fight was on,” said Deputy Jeff Smith.
Davison swung at Smith and an Elyria police sergeant.
The attack left Smith with four fractured ribs and a cracked sternum.
The sergeant suffered a damaged eye socket, said Sheriff Jack Hall.
StunTronics LLC CEO Randy Saley manufactures the device in Ohio and Michigan.
The device is relatively safe and is in use by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, U.S Marshals Service, and nearly a thousand sheriff’s offices across the country, said Saley.
The Band-it device is strapped to an inmate’s body and can be placed in eight different locations, including the arm, leg, or calf.
“It interferes with the neuromuscular signals created by your nervous system,” Saley said. “And with the electrical transmissions of your nervous system, which affect the muscles.”
Training specialist Austin Myers demonstrated the device twice, where it was strapped to his calf.
During the first demonstration, Myers was told to attack the officer from across the room.
Myers was given a series of verbal commands before being shocked.
He tried to continue, but the officer was able to take him to the ground with little effort.
“The whole, the muscle locks up,” Myers said. “My focus was on the pain.”
During the second demonstration, the officer activated the device before Myers could reach him.
“I tried to power through, but it definitely debilitated my ability to fight as much as I probably could have normally,” Myers said.
Hall said the device is helpful in a courtroom setting because inmates are not seen wearing visible shackles, making juries less influenced by their appearance.
“It’s a very subtle device that goes underneath the clothing, and a lot of people wouldn’t even know that the defendant is wearing it,” Hall said.
When Davison went back on trial for assaulting the officers, he wore the Band-it device on both of his legs.
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