Jail is already scary for many people, but one incident in a Florida county jail just made it scarier. The jail shared a rather unsettling photo of a twisted and broken pair of metal handcuffs, which were apparently the work of one inmate who was having a mental episode and was lashing out. The photo and the alleged incident have since made many people question just what kind of person would be able to do that to metal.
The incident took place early in March in the Martin County Jail in Martin County, Florida. The photo that the jail shared shows a pair of thick police-grade handcuffs, with one of them open and twisted like taffy. According to the Martin County Jail, the particular inmate who broke the handcuffs was experiencing an undisclosed mental health crisis, which led to their breaking the handcuffs by sheer strength.
The inmate, however, was reportedly restrained quickly by corrections officers, and surprisingly, no one sustained any injury, including the inmate, at least according to reports from Florida Scanner. It’s not clear whether the handcuffs were defective or not, but they do appear old and weathered. Still, handcuffs and their metal generally don’t become weaker or more malleable over time, making the inmate’s accidental feat rather impressive.
Martin County Jail has since reminded everyone of the dangers of working in jails and prisons, as incidents that led to the broken handcuff above are rarely seen by the public. For the record, there are actually methods that inmates can use to break handcuffs, but those are usually reserved for chained handcuffs and not the hinged ones pictured above.
People Online are in Disbelief at the Inmate’s Strength
While Martin County Jail didn’t exactly disclose the inmate’s identity, many commenters still wanted to know who the “monster” was. Some even recalled their own experiences with handcuffs and jail or prison time, and have never seen anything like broken handcuffs, “I was in corrections. I’ve handled some massive dudes including this big burly guy who was size and looked very similar to Michael Clark Duncan in the green mile. Dude was actually in for murder. Even he could not manage that. What in the [expletive] are you incarcerating???”
Others were more skeptical and jokingly accused the jail of using poor-quality handcuffs, “A lot of people are buying cheap cuffs off Amazon. Those are not made nearly as well as other brands. The steel is much softer,” claims a Facebook commenter, while another quips, “I think those handcuffs came from TEMU.” That particular jail will likely want to review its handcuff collection after the incident.
