Up to a dozen employees of the Rainier School for the disabled face disciplinary action following the airing of a KIRO Team 7 Investigation.

Team 7 Investigators caught caretakers -- on videotape -- mistreating clients with severe physical and mental disabilities.

The Department of Social and Health Services watched the disturbing images with our Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne to give its assessment of what went wrong.

First, DSHS responded to what they saw on our videotape by calling law enforcement for an outside, criminal investigation.

Next, they launched an internal campaign to re-train all employees on when it's not appropriate to touch a client.

VIDEO: Employees Facing Discipline Following KIRO Investigation

Hugs and high-fives are both viewed as positive reinforcement for disabled clients at the state-operated Rainier School.

Shoving, poking and ear-slapping are all behaviors we captured on tape during an outing near the facility that are not approved forms of physical contact.

We sat down with a stern-faced state disabilities director Kathy Leicht and another DSHS care expert, Chris Coleman, to view our hidden camera video. Our undercover team shot the tape a few weeks ago at a park near the Rainier School for the disabled.

"The overall theme that during this particular outing -- we saw some different staff people not treating people with respect that we expect to happen and it wasn't there. And it wasn't just one staff person and it's something we should investigate," Leitch said.

Leicht and Coleman are in charge of training and overseeing care-givers like the one seen on tape punch a vulnerable woman in the face not once, but twice.

"That is truly and totally inappropriate and a violation of R.C.W. (the Revised Code of Washington) as well as department policy," Coleman said.
Halsne: "Do you think it's criminal?"
Coleman: "I think that was an abusive gesture, yeah."

In clip after clip, state experts saw the same thing: Unapproved methods of violence or handling of vulnerable clients who depend on the state to keep them safe.

"We don't tolerate that in our department. We actually give examples in that policy to make it clear to staff what is not acceptable and any kind of hitting or swinging at a client is totally inappropriate," Coleman said.

An outraged public has repeatedly told KIRO Team 7 Investigators that it's high time for the state to clean up staff behavior and change the culture inside this institution.

The State Patrol earlier this week arrested two state employees for assault based on our videotape. Pierce County prosecutors said they plan to formally charge them both Friday. They also say more arrests -- and charges -- are "likely."