A group of deputies at the Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles were reportedly too distracted by a “sexually explicit” video to notice an inmate who had hung a noose in their cell, New York Post reported Friday.
Inspectors Haley Broder and Eric Miller were conducting rounds last May when they discovered the noose hanging in a high-security unit cell, according to a report by jail inspectors. The noose, though not likely to support the inmate’s weight, was described as “obvious to anyone looking into the cell,” the inspectors noted in their official report.
Los Angeles jail guards too busy watching porn to notice noose in suicidal inmate’s cell: Report https://t.co/Ui5fLar9Sm pic.twitter.com/qDSxQ2SpgX
— New York Post (@nypost) June 7, 2024
Despite the shocking sight, a guard conducting a safety check allegedly disregarded the noose. Broder stayed with the inmate, who was banging his head against the wall, while Miller sought help from the deputies, New York Post reported. When Miller reached the deputy station, he encountered eight guards gathered around a television, initially dismissing his concern. Returning 30 minutes later, Miller found the deputies watching what seemed to be a sexually explicit video.
“To me it looked like the beginning of an OnlyFans video or something,” Miller told the Los Angeles Times. “It was women in underwear, and it certainly didn’t look like they were going to put more clothes on. It looked like they were going to take them off.” (RELATED: Male Inmates Spent Hours Raping, Attacking Female Inmates After Guard Slipped Them A Key, Lawsuit Alleges)
A picture taken on October 5, 2021 in Toulouse shows the logo of Onlyfans social media displayed by a tablet. (Photo by LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP via Getty Images)
The deputies turned off the explicit film only after Broder entered the room and it required multiple requests before one deputy reluctantly removed the noose, according to the report. Broder and Miller’s report highlights that the noose incident reflected wider problems at the jail. Broder noted “continuous neglect and poor conditions,” with inmates complaining of hunger, suffering from large open wounds, and living amidst trash, New York Post stated.
The facility reportedly reeked of foul odors and fires broke out occasionally, New York Post reported. The report detailed deplorable conditions, including “boiling hot, dirty, [and] humid” showers, moldy cells and poor air circulation. Many inmates reportedly had only one set of clothes, and the mattresses did not meet regulatory standards.
“There was also a man whose cell was covered in mold and water and he was using his clothes to sop up the water,” Broder told Los Angeles Times. “In that unit they don’t have books, they don’t have pens. They have absolutely nothing, and it’s completely dark.”
