LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — There’s a new update to a News 3 investigation that began in 2019- looking into the use of Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray at Nevada youth facilities. It sparked a federal probe into civil rights violations at Summit View Youth Center and Nevada Youth Training Center (NYTC).

Years later, the Department of Justice says the chapter is finally closed.

News 3 spent more than a year uncovering what happens behind the barbed wire at Summit View. Back in 2019, a whistleblower sent photos and videos of then 17-year-old Damonte Richardson, who says he was pepper sprayed after trying to escape the facility.

The whistleblower, who did not want to share their identity in fear of retaliation, claimed corrections officers repeatedly violated chemical restraint and use of force policies. In an interview News 3 aired in 2020, Richardson shared his experience getting pepper sprayed.

“It burnt my face. It hurt,” Richardson said.

During the investigation, News 3 found more reports showing similar complaints with different youth offenders. Less than a year after the story aired, the Department of Justice opened its own investigation.

It focused on the use of chemical restraints at Summit View and NYTC. The investigation closed in September, with officials explaining in a letter to Governor Steve Sisolak that it found DCFS adopted “new policies and practices that have resulted in a significant decrease in the use of chemical restraints at these facilities.

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