Los Angeles prison guards are too busy watching porn to notice the noose in their cell: report

US news

By Oliwia’s Land

A new report shows that a group of California prison officers were too distracted by a “sexually explicit” video to notice that an inmate had hung a noose in their cell.

Inspectors Haley Broder and Eric Miller were making their rounds last month at the Los Angeles Men’s Central Jail when they saw a noose hanging in one of the maximum-security unit’s cells.

“Although the noose did not support the inmate’s weight, it was visible to anyone looking into the cell,” inspectors wrote in their official report.

Inspectors alleged that a guard walked past the cell for a security check and ignored the disturbing sight.

Broder stayed with the suicidal inmate, who began banging his head against the wall, while Miller went to look for a deputy, they explained.

When Miller first approached the station deputy, the eight guards sitting around the television station allayed his concerns.

When he returned 30 minutes later, he found the group gathered around watching a “sexually explicit” video.

“To me, it looked like the beginning of an OnlyFans music video or something,” Miller told the Los Angeles Times. “They were women in their underwear and it didn’t look like they were going to put any more clothes on. It looked like they were going to take them off.

“The degree of callousness they displayed was just appalling,” Miller added. “What’s the point of a security check if you don’t actually take any action?”

The report states that deputies only turned off the video when Broder entered the room.

It also took several requests for one of the guards to reluctantly go and break the noose, the scathing assessment added.

Both Miller and Broder said the noose incident is indicative of a broader problem of poor prison conditions.

“Just constant neglect and poor conditions,” Broder told the LA Times.

“People said they were hungry. We saw people with huge open wounds. There was garbage everywhere – there’s a lot of it. It smells. There are fires. And it seems that overall, there is simply a lack of interest in changing this situation.

The report said the facility’s showers were “hot, dirty and (and) humid,” the cells themselves were “mouldy” and many blocks lacked circulating air.

Many prisoners had only one set of clothes, and the mattresses did not meet the requirements of the regulations.

“There was also a man whose cell was covered in mold and water, and he was using his clothes to collect the water,” Broder recalled.

“They don’t have books in this branch, they don’t have pens. They have absolutely nothing and it is completely dark.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to The Post that several of the violations noted in the report have since been corrected.

The office also says it is investigating eight deputies who allegedly watched the illegal video.

“The department investigates all allegations of misconduct and expects its staff to perform their duties in a professional manner, consistent with department policy,” the statement said.

“When violations of policies and procedures are detected, staff are held accountable.”