© Via YouTube/Nexonews.com
In March, a video was posted to YouTube showing NYPD macing a man and then restraining him in what the uploader described as a "body bag," zipping it all the way over the arrested man's head. The bag, which we learned is called an EDP bag (but sometimes referred to as a "burrito"), is used
to restrain people who are emotionally disturbed, and there don't appear to be any guidelines for the NYPD specifying EDP usage. The
New York Times has a piece out today on the restraining devices, and reports that they were used 122 times between January 1st and April 20th in 2016. That comes out to more than once a day.
The man restrained in the bag in the video posted in March allegedly
failed to pay his subway fare, the
Times reports, and he's said to have became violent when officers tried to arrest him, flailing his arms, kicking, and spitting. He allegedly struck one officer in the head with his elbow and injured another. He now faces charges for felony assault, among others—but his lawyer, Andrew Miller, says that's completely backwards.
"He was the victim of the assault, instead of the other way around,"
Miller said, calling the officers' actions "excessive and totally unreasonable."
According to the
product description for a similar bag as the one that appeared in the video, "the EDP Bag deploys in a split second and can be used to secure an EDP (emotionally disturbed person) in just moments. The fabric is strong and allows fluids to pass through, and can be cleaned and decontaminated easily after each use."
It retails at about $750.
Comment: Hopefully, the family will win. This was nothing short of state-sanctioned, prolonged torture. No matter how many similar stories are reported prison conditions do not improve. This speaks volumes about the prison-industrial complex and the 'people' who run it.