OCO WCCW Use-of-Force Investigation — June 2025; OC spray misuse and medical screening failures at women's prison

OCO published a special investigative report on June 9, 2025 documenting systemic OC (pepper) spray misuse, post-force medical screening failures, improper medical seclusion, unauthorized blood testing, and an undisclosed superintendent conflict of interest at the Washington Corrections Center for Women. Three staff members were placed on home duties. DOC discontinued medical seclusion as a practice following the report. Eleven months later, on May 19, 2026, DOJ opened a CRIPA civil rights investigation of the same facility.

What happened

Following a complaint from a prisoner about the treatment of people in WCCW’s restrictive housing unit, the OCO conducted an investigation involving review of emails, medical records, and video footage, and multiple on-site visits over approximately three months (September through December, the review period stated by the Seattle Times).

Documented incidents:

• September 2024: A woman in restrictive housing refused to return to her cell because she wanted a shower. Staff restrained her arms and discharged OC spray directly into her eyes from close range — in violation of the OCO’s finding that OC spray must be used from at least three feet away. The OCO characterized this as a “preplanned use of force” that should have been avoided through de-escalation. She vomited, said she couldn’t breathe, and was then sprayed with water at a pressure that made it unsafe to open her eyes.

• Three months later: The same woman was transferred using improper control methods and restraint devices. Two days after the transfer, she was taken to the emergency room with a swollen and bruised wrist; medical personnel had removed her wrist brace.

• Separate incident: A woman with severe mental illness was pepper-sprayed while engaging in self-harm. Staff delayed decontamination and used pain compliance techniques that violated policy. She was then placed in “medical seclusion” — confined to her cell 24 hours a day except for limited medical contacts — and had not showered in three weeks.

• April 2025: A staff member threatened a prisoner and, after pushing another staff member aside, entered her cell and discharged an entire can of OC spray into her face. The OCO found this unnecessary because she posed no threat at the time.

• Separate incident: A woman was OC-sprayed after offensive remarks by a staff member. Her eyes and face were not decontaminated for twenty minutes. Facility personnel stated that their supervisor instructed them to withhold details from the incident report.

• One month later: The same woman attempted suicide by hanging. When staff found her, they left to retrieve OC spray and a shield before returning to assist her. The prison subsequently issued an infraction for making a noose from bed sheets, which was later rescinded at the OCO’s request.

• Superintendent conflict of interest: Two months after the suicide attempt, the OCO received documents showing that over a decade earlier, the woman had allegedly assaulted a corrections officer in another state. The superintendent of WCCW was a close relative of that officer. This relationship had not been officially disclosed, as required by DOC policy.

DOC’s response:

• Three staff members were placed on home duties pending investigation of one use-of-force incident.
• DOC discontinued medical seclusion as a practice.
• DOC Secretary Tim Lang stated that the claims would be investigated and that employees are expected to follow policy.
• DOC initiated mentorship and training programs with staff from other facilities.
• DOC committed to timely reviews of use-of-force incidents and regular headquarters-level audits.

What the primary source says

The Seattle Times described the investigation as finding that “staffers in Washington’s only women’s prison repeatedly used excessive force.” The OCO report reviewed emails, medical records, and video footage and is listed on the OCO investigative reports page as published June 9, 2025.

Status

The OCO stated it will continue to oversee use-of-force and related matters at WCCW. DOC discontinued medical seclusion and committed to policy implementation. Three staff were placed on home duties; the outcome of those internal investigations is not publicly documented. On May 19, 2026, DOJ opened a CRIPA investigation of WCCW under a separate but overlapping factual basis (see WA-2026-DOJ-CRIPA-WCCW).

Why it’s in the registry

The June 2025 OCO WCCW investigation is the documented state-level finding that precedes the May 2026 federal CRIPA escalation by eleven months. The findings are specific, documented, and based on OCO’s direct review of records and video. The superintendent conflict-of-interest finding — an undisclosed relationship to an alleged assault victim at the same facility — is a separate structural concern that implicates the integrity of internal reporting at WCCW independent of the use-of-force pattern.

Reform implication

This case preceded the CRIPA opening by nearly a year. The pattern is documented: the OCO found systemic violations at WCCW in June 2025; the corrective actions that followed (staff home duties, discontinuation of medical seclusion, training commitments) did not prevent federal civil rights escalation eleven months later. An independent use-of-force review authority with binding corrective action power — or a statutory timeline for DOC implementation of OCO findings with automatic legislative referral if the timeline is missed — would represent the institutional layer between OCO findings and federal CRIPA intervention. See [reform: use_of_force_oversight] and [reform: independent_inspector_general].