Unauthorized use of
Tasers on prisoners;
Administrative Punishment;
reassignment
Four members of an elite US special operations task force in Iraq have been punished for
unauthorised use of Taser electric stun guns on prisoners following an investigation into
allegations of prisoner abuse, the Pentagon said today.
The probe was conducted after Defence Intelligence Agency interrogators reported seeing
prisoners with burns and bruises being brought to a temporary detention centre by
members of a top secret special operations Task Force.
One of the DIA interrogators said he saw a member of the task force punch a prisoner in
the face to the point he needed medical treatment, according to a June 25, 2004 memo from
DIA director Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby made public yesterday.
The DIA interrogators were then threatened, had their vehicle keys taken and ordered to
stay at the base after they took pictures of the prisoners' injuries and showed them to
their superior at the task force, according to the memo.
Pentagon spokesman Lawrence DiRita said today that the commander of the Task Force had
already begun an investigation into potential abuse of detainees and widened it to include the
incident reported by the DIA.
"Based on the results of this specific investigation four individuals received administrative
punishments for excessive use of force -- it in particular was emphasised it was the
unauthorised use of Tasers," he said. "Additionally all four were reassigned to other
responsibilities, and two were removed from the unit," he said.
DiRita said the special operations task force has issued ten letters of reprimand related to
allegations of detainee abuse. He did not know what administrative punishment was
meted out, but said typically it takes the form of loss of pay and reduction in rank.
The unauthorised use of Tasers was referred to the army's Criminal Investigation Division but it
was not known whether a criminal investigation was underway.
Coming months after the Abu Ghraib prisoner scandal, the incident suggests detainee abuse
continues to be a problem in Iraq despite the flood of negative publicity and investigations
unleashed by the Abu Ghraib revelations.
But DiRita said the issue was being taken seriously by the Pentagon and commanders, noting that
eight or nine investigations have been launched and several are still under way.
The Navy Special Warfare Command, which fields the SEAL special operations teams, has two
special courts martial pending, is conducting investigations that could lead to two other courts
martial, has handed out non-judicial punishment in two cases, and has decisions pending for non
judicial punishment in four other cases, he said.
"And that's just one command with respect to one set of special operations teams," he said.
Since Abu Ghraib, the army has suspended a general from command, referred 26 soldiers to trial
by court martial, handed out non-judicial punishment to 46 soldiers and given 13 reprimands, he
said. Courts martial of marines have resulted in 13 convictions, he said.
Brigadier General Richard Formica, meanwhile, is investigating the detention practices by special
operations forces in Iraq, including the allegations reported by the DIA, he said.
The Pentagon spokesman said Formica was looking at issues such as the "command climate" in
special operations units.
"Special operations have to some degree a unique role. Obviously we know what they're unique
role is. But they also have different sets of challenges when it comes to detainee management," he
said.
"They have just a range of activity that makes this question one that deserves special attention," he
said.
Vice Admiral Albert Church, the Navy's inspector general, is conducting a separate investigation
into detainee issues not addressed in other more narrowly focused investigations.
DiRita said the Church report was being circulated within the Pentagon for comment, but said he
did not know when either the Church or Formica reports would be completed.
