Advertisement Inmate in shocking jail video calls treatment 'torture' Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office investigating Share Shares Copy Link Copy

An inmate seen being tasered and maced in a video taken from a Bernalillo County correctional officer's body camera says she wishes she could forget the horrifying experience.In September of 2015, Susie Chavez was in the Bernalillo County Jail for a probation violation.While in jail, Chavez was taken out of her cell while officers could examine it. A video of that incident recently surfaced and many have called it terrifying to watch.In the video, Chavez is tasered, maced and her shackled wrists are twisted because she won't stop crying or yelling during the search.Before her wrists are twisted, an officer can be heard on the video saying, "twist her wrists until she shuts up and stops crying."The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office has since investigated the incident, and the interim jail director said Monday night that the district attorney or the attorney general will now review the case to see if charges should be brought forth.Sgt. Eric Green, who was involved in the incident, has been on paid administrative leave since January of this year.An oversight board for the jail held an emergency meeting Monday night regarding the video.The board raised questions to Tom Ruiz, the jail's interim director, asking him why the board is just now seeing the video.Ruiz explained that before he came on, which was in July, that there were no policies in place at the jail to investigate officer misconduct. Now, there is a team of investigators at the jail who do just that.Ruiz also said that jail administration found out about the incident in April of this year. Board members said that the issue should have been looked into much sooner.Board members also requested that they would like to review all reports and investigations done by jail administration and the sheriff's office regarding officer misconduct.Ruiz told board members that there's a backlog of cases involving officer misconduct and that his investigative team is working to move through them.The investigative team, which has been in place since July, has reviewed 17 incidents so far. Ruiz added that officers are being trained now to minimize the use of force.Chavez attended the meeting and told Action 7 News that the experience she had with the Bernalillo County Jail last year was traumatizing."It felt like I was dying over and over and over again," Chavez said.Chavez spoke to board members, pleading for them to be a voice for inmates. Former inmates also spoke to the board, sharing their stories of alleged abuse.Chavez says she never expected her story to get so big, but added that all she wants is change."I want all the families out there who has an inmate in the jail to know that something is being done and that we have the county's attention," Chavez said.Stephen Perkins, the union president for the county's corrections officers, was at the meeting and said that the county has regularly ignored the needs of officers over the years.He asked that the board look into that. He also said that use of force policies are non-existent at the jail or are often not made clear to officers.