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VALHALLA – A long-term investigation by the US Department of Justice has found that conditions at the Westchester County Jail systematically violate the constitutional rights of inmates.

“A federal investigation of conditions at the Westchester County Jail has uncovered serious civil rights violations,” said Preet Bharara, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York. “Especially disturbing are the findings of repeated use of excessive force and the deprivation of basic medical care. Out jails have a legal duty to protect the physical safety of their inmates and to provide humane conditions of confinement.” He said the Westchester Jail “has utterly failed to live up to these standards.”

Key findings of the investigation conclude the jail failed to adequately protect inmates from physical harm caused by excessive force used by staff; and failed to provide adequate medical and mental health care, particularly with respect to juveniles houses in the jail’s punitive segregation unit, all resulting in unconstitutional living conditions.

The investigation was conducted under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, a federal law that authorizes the attorney general to investigate systematic abuses of persons confined in institutionalized settings such as correctional facilities.

Among the finds of excessive force was that Emergency Response Team officers routinely shoved inmates aggressively into walls and other fixed objects; inappropriately employed crowd control chemical agents against inmates at close range; applied unnecessary force to compliant or confused inmates; routinely applied unnecessary and painful escort techniques; and disregarded some inmates’ mental impairments in use of force incidents.

The report proposed a series of measures to be implemented at the jail to address the constitutional deficiencies identified in the investigation.

If a resolution cannot be reached between the federal and county governments, the Justice Department said a lawsuit could be initiated.