HARTFORD – Surveillance videos from the locked units for juveniles in Middletown – publicly aired for the first time Tuesday – show what the state Child Advocate calls an excessive and dangerous overreliance on the use of restraints, take-downs, shackles, and seclusion.
The videos, posted on the Child Advocate's website, show confrontations between youth and staff members at the Connecticut Juvenile Training School for boys and the nearby Pueblo unit for girls.
David McGuire, of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, said, "These disturbing videos show children with trauma and mental health issues being physically restrained and assaulted for attempting suicide or not listening to commands.