Illinois Answers Project: “Jason Porter takes comfort in knowing restraint chairs have been banned from Allegheny County Jail.

He was strapped down in the controversial device for six hours without food or water in 2020 in what was one of more than three hundred uses of a restraint chair at the jail that year.

His experience became another point in a public dataset published online by the state. That data, bolstered by testimony from Porter and others who spoke out about their experiences, helped support a class-action lawsuit against the facility and propel a community organizing campaign that would lead to what appears to be the nation’s first voter-approved ban on restraint chairs in a county jail.

Allegheny residents said the data, which revealed the county was restraining people in chairs at high rates, is instrumental in promoting transparency and accountability, arming people with information to take to jail oversight board meetings, county council or the courtroom.

‘We use a lot of this data to dictate the types of reforms that we work towards in Allegheny County,’ said Bethany Hallam, who was previously detained at the jail and now serves on county council and the jail’s oversight board.

Four years after the referendum, Allegheny County Jail is still implementing changes and grappling with its effects. Proponents say the measure has removed dangerous ‘weapons’ and proves that a large jail can operate without needing to use restraint chairs. The facility also has new leadership, and an independent monitor recently credited the jail with making “large-scale” reforms.

But critics say the elimination of ‘tools’ has put both officers and detainees at risk. While overall use of force has gone down since the referendum, the use of physical force and stun devices has increased. Now two people are campaigning to bring the restraint chair back.”

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