PHILADELPHIA (AP) — At least 20 suspects riding in the back of police vans in recent years suffered injuries ranging from a broken tailbone to paralysis as a result of officers driving erratically to deal with apparently difficult suspects, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
Officers call the long-standing ritual a "nickel ride," a term dating to the days when amusement-park rides cost 5 cents. Rookie officers learn about it as "part of your street training," said Norman A. Carter Jr., a retired Philadelphia police corporal.
Although the city has paid more than $2.3 million to settle lawsuits filed by passengers, none of the officers has been disciplined for intentionally subjecting passengers to wild rides, the newspaper reported in early editions today. The city has also been slow to deploy potentially safer vehicles, the paper said.
Two people were permanently paralyzed in city police vans. Most of the 20 victims had clean records and were arrested on minor charges, such as talking back or arguing with police.
"That wagon changed a lot," said Gino Thompson, a father of 11 paralyzed from the waist down. "I can't play football with my kids. I can't play basketball. I was a gymnast, a singer, a dancer. I did it all."
Thompson, 40, was arrested in 1994 after a drunken argument with a girlfriend. He now relies on a wheelchair. The city paid $600,000 to settle his suit.
The newspaper found 19 similar cases, but reported that they likely represent a fraction of all wagon injuries.
Current and former officers say the erratic driving, in which the officer makes sharp turns, accelerates quickly or slams on the brakes, is often falsely attributed to traffic, bad roads or a sudden stop made to avoid an animal.
James B. Jordan, a lawyer who worked as the police department's in-house corruption monitor from 1996 through 1999, said officers use the "nickel ride" to assert control.
"What better way to show who's in control than stopping at a light and slamming on the brakes, knowing that they're going to go flying?" Jordan asked. "And maybe the prisoner was yelling, and maybe this will shut him up."
Police Commissioner John F. Timoney said he was not aware that officers would intentionally injure prisoners during transport.
"Such behavior — if it does exist — certainly isn't condoned by myself or anybody else in this department," Timoney said.
"We are making efforts, as much as humanly possible, to reduce the number of incidents where prisoners get hurt in the back of these vans," he said.
Some cities have phased out wagons or added safety restraints and padding, but only 10 of Philadelphia's 86 wagons have these safety features. The other vehicles, which transport tens of thousands of suspects per year, have a compartment made of fiberglass and plastic with narrow benches.
Calvin Saunders was transported in such a van in 1997 when he was arrested for driving a stolen car. During the ride, he was propelled from his seat and rammed his head against a wall.
Now a quadriplegic, Saunders cannot feed, bathe or dress himself. The city paid him a $1.2 million settlement to help cover his lifetime medical care.
Chief Inspector Frank M. Pryor, head of the police department's patrol operations, said "nobody did anything about" the rough rides 30 years ago, but insists times have changed. "If we see that happen, we're on it now," Pryor said.
Eleven of the 20 cases found by the newspaper, however, were never investigated by the department's Internal Affairs division.