allegheny county jail complaints
A written statement from the Corrections Officer Union was read at a Jail Oversight Board meeting, in which the Warden was called out for not providing enough information to staff, and for making it more difficult to comply with the referendum during a pandemic by cramming people into just a few housing units while other units sit empty. The Allegheny County Council and Executive must take steps to ensure replacement leadership prioritizes human rights, social services, and humane treatment, and works with the courts and District Attorneys office to permanently reduce the jail population. Also in March 2021, PublicSource requested documentation on the jails internal policies and received heavily redacted versions. In July 2020, it was made publicly known that the jail was profiting from a new phone contract that overcharges those in the jail and their families trying to reach their loved ones. This includes reports of an unclean kitchen with staff reporting problems with rodent droppings and roaches. In May, the lawsuit said, Byrd attempted to kill himself by overdosing on medications three times. ASAP was designed to handle all murder, misdemeanor and felony complaints from three possible paths: on-view arrest, summons, or warrant service. On February 17th, 2022, the Pitt News issued a statement saying Our community deserves better than the Allegheny County Jail that lists numerous problems with the jail over the last few years, similar to this list. Those included two psychiatrists, four mental health registered nurses, seven licensed practice nurses and 14 registered nurses. This comes shortly after the Oversight Board meeting where Warden Harper admitted that the jail is not properly staffed with medical staff and that sometimes medications are late to folks being held. On March 7, 2023, WPXI reported that the last medical director at ACJ has resigned. Tell the world. On December 22nd, 2021, the jail reported to oversight yet another death, the 6th in 2021. . Allegations of unsafe food and health conditions have been going around for a long time yet the Warden and Jail Oversight Board have done nothing. The lawsuit notes that 67% of the jail population is Black, even though Black people make up only 13% of the county population. Due to the severe staffing shortages and lack of appropriate training, rather than provide any meaningful counseling, mental health staff simply make rounds during which they only ask patients how they are doing and whether they want to hurt themselves, the complaint said. The Allegheny County Jail, too, the lawsuit continued, had the highest number of Taser and stun gun use nearly five times that of the second highest county. However, follow-ups with the complainants showed that the jail had sent police to intimidate the complainers, and interviewed them under duress without the presence of lawyers or informing complainants of their rights. for one of victims that had previously died. In July 2021, video became public of a jail officers taser attack against a handcuffed woman in a cell. Additionally, in 2008 a direct data interface between ASAP and the Magisterial District Judge System (statewide MDJS) was established. Al Caponi, the countys director of facilities management, said each time the department has received a complaint about temperatures in the jail, it has taken readings on all levels. . After four years of pretrial detention, one had charges dismissed and the other was acquitted at. "Sometimes medications are late and I'm going to leave it at that," Harper told JOB members. For anyone to say that this jail is normal is absolutely outrageous, said Susan McCampbell, president of Center for Innovative Public Policies. These include pepper spray and Taser attacks on people with severe mental health diagnoses; routine placement of people with serious mental illness and intellectual disability in solitary confinement; jailing of pregnant women who never get enough food for minor probation violations; consistent failures to provide medical and mental health treatment; and routine days-long lockdowns that keep the entire jail trapped in their cells for no reason whatsoever.. 1. You will need to have some identifying information about the person you allege committed a crime (full name, date of birth, address, etc.). The lack of care, the complaint said, leads to psychological pain, decompensation, increased disciplinary infractions, excessive use of force and an elevated risk of self-harm. . pDQeCS-_n5ti>k{] il.[>BqXP_jE'uMfxb0#kATC= u [QIYw% On August 3rd, 2022, Pittsburgh City Paper started a new Jail Watch that covered a review of recent jail statistics and events, including that the jail has faced over 162 health code violations since 2014, with a quote from a kitchen worker stating: One former ACJ kitchen worker described rodents and pest infestations as a daily problem and recalled a layer of black slime covering the kitchen floor and pooling in a clogged drain and raw sewage where we were preparing food.. As of February 6th, 2022, the Allegheny County Jail is still keeping folks held in lockdown, supposedly due to Covid, despite people's referendum against solitary confinement. On June 28, 2022, an article from Vox about. It may continue to be edited to add any future complaints until Harper is removed and conditions in the jail change. However, as he tried to return to his cell, a sergeant pointed a taser at his face and ordered him to the ground, the complaint said. Either way, its another example of his penchant for dismissing problems instead of fixing them., On July 21st, 2022, ACJ staff union president. that should have been banned, ridiculously claiming that the weapons were already purchased before the ban went into effect and therefore he was allowed to use them. 950 Second Avenue Make a gift of $7/month or more to get yours today! As with all of our homes, there are often smaller VAV boxes that need to be fixed. On February 27, 2023, lawyers in a federal lawsuit against the jail stated that mental health treatment in the jail is shockingly substandard. describes the lack of transparency and oversight in the jail. On February 27, 2023, lawyers in a federal lawsuit against the jail stated that, . After mental health staff and correctional officers ignored his repeated requests for treatment, and an officer actually encouraged him to commit suicide, Mr. Howard felt that the only course of action to get help was to kill himself. You see your breath inside. In February, Cohen tried to create a noose from her shirt to hang herself. She called the findings of the audit "damning.". An abuse of authority of such severity cannot be treated with impunity. The county is fighting a lawsuit and defending the officer. Porter was approved for surgery to resolve his vision problems, the complaint said, but accuses Williams of cancelling the procedure and refusing to reschedule it. Shortly after, the county announced it was, On September 7th, 2022, a new survey of those held at the jail showed , of the Allegheny County Council provided further details; comments included that Theyve sent up roaches with the food 3 times in 5 months, Food comes up hours late, if it comes at all, and Also, there would be roaches in our food and rock like materials in there as well and the jail expects us to eat such a thing. Comments also complained of extraordinarily high cost for commisary foods. Pittsburgh, PA 15219. It also cites statistics showing that an estimated 64% of people in jail have a mental health condition. The lawsuit said that the Allegheny County facility has one of the highest suicide rates for a jail in the country with nine suicides there since 2016. There was an error in the login information you submitted. that overcharges those in the jail and their families trying to reach their loved ones. being served. On January 22, 2023, Allegheny County Jail still held about 20 teenagers with no plans on releasing them. In late September 2021, after repeatedly refusing to give the Jail Oversight Board more information on Garcia and C-SAU training, the JOB voted to end the contract and ban Garcia from providing any further training to the county. As far as the temperatures in the cell blocks, I walk the cell block frequently, and it is very comfortable in the cell block. The on-going nature of these problems and attrition of staff show that there cannot be change in jail procedures and policies without a change in jail leadership. Paula Reed Ward is a Tribune-Review staff writer. He added that once the steam is delivered to the jails utility facility, it is then the countys responsibility to transfer the steam through the complex. Some formerly incarcerated people said the jails heat has been an issue for years. TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox. On July 19th, 2022, County Councilmember and Jail Oversight Board member Bethany Hallam pointed out Warden Harpers misleading statistics that dramatically understated the death rate at the jail. Some members of the Allegheny County Jail Oversight Board and other community members worry the jail could be in violation of a voter-approved referendum banning the use of solitary . Those interviews were conducted in-person, on the phone and through video conferencing, she said. Warden Harper uses the term thug life when talking about the 100% Black group of kids currently in the Allegheny County Jail. Its finally closing. Even though Mr. Castaphany complied, he was tased before he could get on the ground, the complaint said. Jail Oversight Board; Disclaimer; Harassment/Discrimination Complaint Procedures . Harper claimed that internal investigation showed that the complaints were incorrectly reported publicly. In August 2020, it was also made publicly known that. In September 2020, a class-action lawsuit was filed against the jail and top officials at the jail including the Warden, alleging, . endobj For anyone to say that this jail is normal is absolutely outrageous, said Susan McCampbell, president of Center for Innovative Public Policies. The team also analyzed the circumstances around the 27 deaths and how they were reviewed afterward. On July 28th, 2022, photos were shared of. The jail did not immediately respond other than to say the person could file a grievance. Its unclear how those competency issues would have been resolved and if Talottas charges would have been dismissed due to his intellectual disability., On October 3rd, 2022, the Abolitionist Law Center filed a class-action lawsuit against Warden Harper and other county officials . On October 5th, 2022, it was reported by PINJ that Wilson Bernales, one of two medical doctors currently employed at the Allegheny County Jail, has had his medical license suspended, revoked or denied in at least eight different states. Yet Bernales can still practice in Pennsylvania and was hired by the jail despite this resume. 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On December 11th, 2020, 15 former Allegheny County Jail, , describing impossible workloads, insufficient staffing, being directed to do tasks that they worried threatened their medical licenses and management they denounced as hostile and underqualified., In April 2019, Representative Summer Lee and others spoke out about the treatment of people with drug addictions, including the experience of, . The lawsuit includes an allegation that Harper ordered staff in the mens Restricted Housing Unit to withhold privileges or use force against anyone requesting mental health care to compel the person requesting help to be silent.. On November 23rd, 2022, the Abolitionist Law Center released a statement that folks held in the jail wrote a letter stating that the jail had been without heat for days. Jail Oversight Board members cited that the learned about this incident from folks in the jail, not from the warden, continuing a pattern of secrecy by jail leadership including the warden. The complaint describes numerous assaults by [Sergeant John] Raible against people with disabilities involving the over use of pepper spray, tasers and placing people with disabilities in a restraint chair for hours without food, water, medicine, or breaks to relieve themselves. The lawsuit also alleges that [Warden] Harper, [Chief Deputy] Zewto, and [Deputy Chief of Operations] Beasom knew that ACJ officers routinely used excessive force on individuals with psychiatric disabilities and did not provide adequate supervision or training of jail staff. Their conditions have worsened and ACJs already high suicide completion and attempt rates have continued to increase. VisitorsGovernment, Open RecordsCareersVideos Another caller complained about being unnecessarily quarantined after testing negative for Covid.