Controversial Allegheny County Jail contractor has criminal history and warned of a race war against

Controversial Allegheny County Jail contractor has criminal history and warned of a race war against correctional officers


On July 27, Allegheny County issued $400,000 worth of no-bid contracts to C-SAU, or Corrections Special Applications Unit, and Lightfield Less Lethal Research, for military style training and less-lethal weapons for correctional officers at the Allegheny County Jail.

The contract was swiftly met with criticism from local advocacy group the Abolitionist Law Center, who threatened to sue the county if it moved forward with the contract, saying that the contract could lead to use of excessive force against incarcerated individuals and that C-SAU leader Joseph Garcia had a history of training correctional officers to perceive incarcerated people antagonistically.

“[Garcia] trains officers to view their jobs as ‘going to battle with’ detainees, and to see themselves as ‘warriors’ against them,” said Bret Grote of the ALC in a letter to Allegheny County officials.

Now, it has been revealed that Garcia also has a criminal record in the United Kingdom and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm in Britain in 1989, and was sentenced to 2.5 years in a British prison. Additionally, Garcia said in a 2020 magazine interview that following the death of George Floyd, he was concerned there would be a race war against correctional officers.

Read more: https://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/controversial-allegheny-county-jail-contractor-has-criminal-history-and-warned-of-a-race-war-against-correctional-officers/Content?oid=20113733