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The reality of the mask

The facial shield recently worn in a Pinellas courtroom may look like something from Hollywood, but it's a common restraint used by police. And it's made in Florida.

By JOSE CARDENAS
Published January 27, 2006

[Times photo: Willie J. Allen Jr.]

A judge ordered the use of this plastic “biter mask” on serial bank robber Steven Aitken during his Jan. 17 sentencing. Aitken had yelled at the judge, the lawyers and the gallery during a weeklong trial.

	[Times photo: Carrie Pratt]
	This mask is used as a training tool for the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. It is similar to one used on Steven Aitken.

The news photo in last week's St. Petersburg Times looked more surreal than real. You might have wondered: Is this a joke?

It showed serial bank robber Steven Aitken in a restraint chair, surrounded by deputies with helmets and gloves.

But it was the mask that commanded our attention.

What did the plasticlike shield, spookily covering his face from nose to chin, remind you of?

Hannibal Lecter? Iron masks? Jason from Friday the 13th?

Who knew such a thing is made in Florida? And cheap, too. Thousands are sold each year, and deputies keep dozens of spares.

Judge Richard Luce ordered Pinellas County sheriff's deputies to use such a mask on Aitken before his sentencing on Jan. 17. The judge had already removed Aitken from the courtroom four times during the weeklong trial for yelling at him, the lawyers and gallery.

Known as a "spit shield," "biter mask" or "protection mask," its purpose usually is to prevent violent prisoners from spitting on or biting people around them. But in this case, its purpose was to shut Aitken up.

The one-size-fits-all masks are held in place with adjustable elastic; they have two holes in front of the nostrils; there's no hole in front of the mouth, but there are five other openings on the side and bottom.

As experienced by a reporter who wore one, the mask muffles the voice, but does not prevent people from talking.

It puts a bit of tension below the eyes, on the side of the nose, but it's no more than the pressure from tight sunglasses.

The masks used by the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office are made by RIPP Restraints Inc. of Orange City.

Bill DeVane, the company's owner, noted the devices became popular because police officers were afraid to come in contact with spit or blood from HIV-infected prisoners.

"That's why the officers get so upset when you spit on them," said DeVane, 62. "Other than being demeaning, there are also so many communicable diseases."

The mask DeVane sells is made out of polyurethane. It costs a thrifty $4.95 and is disposable. His company has sold between 8,000 and 10,000 in the past five years to state corrections agencies in Florida and across the country.

Protection masks, DeVane said, actually rank low in terms of sales compared with various other restraint devices that law enforcement agencies buy from him.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office has 70 masks and reorders as needed, spokesman Mac McMullen said.

McMullen said the masks have been approved by the Sheriff's Office's head doctor, Timothy Bailey. Once a mask is put on a prisoner, that person is checked every 15 minutes.

The mask's use in court is very rare, though.

Detention Sgt. Frederick Spaldi told McMullen he could only remember one other case in which an inmate was masked in court. Beyond that, there might be 150 to 200 cases a year where the masks are used, primarily on unruly inmates being booked into county jail.

In a jail that can have 3,000 inmates at any time, McMullen said, that many cases a year is not a lot.

There's one other time when a prisoner clad in a spit shield caught the dark imaginations of readers and television viewers around the country.

In April 2003, Esteban Carpio, a 26-year-old accused of killing a policeman, walked into a Providence, R.I., courtroom wearing a mask.

The image of Carpio was more morbid, though. To the imaginative mind, perhaps it was more reminiscent of medieval torture.

Behind the mask, Carpio had black eyes and other gruesome injuries he had acquired while in police custody. Officials said he got the injuries while trying to escape.

And the mask? That was a RIPP product, too.

- Jose Cardenas can be reached at 727 445-4224 or jcardenas@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 26, 2006, 09:43:02]