Oklahoma Co. Sheriff defends jail's conditions
Oklahoma Co. Sheriff defends jail's conditions
By John Estus and Bryan Dean
Comments 
92
Published: August 5, 2008
A Justice Department report rips the Oklahoma County jail as a chaotic and largely unsupervised den of "unconscionable” violence, abuse and medical neglect.
Multimedia
Videoview all videos
DOJ critical of Oklahoma County Jail
Aug 4Oklahoma County Sheriff John Whetsel responds to a Department of...
Related content
Links
More Info
Sheriff John Whetsel responds to a U.S. Justice Department report that outlined problems at the Oklahoma County jail during a news conference Monday. BY David McDaniel, The Oklahoman
AT A GLANCE
More key findings from the Justice Department's report:
•Suicide prevention: "Our review of the investigations involving completed suicides and suicide attempts revealed the jail's failure to respond adequately to issues that could help mitigate the success of these activities.”
•Inadequate investigation of serious incidents: "While the jail does have an investigatory process, that process is often inadequate to prevent an adequate understanding of the causes leading to an event, or to implement measures to prevent future, similar events ... The jail lacks a formal process for reviewing even detainee deaths for operational breakdowns.”
•Inadequate health care: "We uncovered instances where detainees were not provided adequate access to medical care, specifically acute services — with dire results.”
•When an inmate was cuffed to a handrail while giving birth to a baby that later died: "In our expert's opinion, this woman's care was 'unconscionable' during the hours she was in critical need of access to medical care.”
•Inadequate mental health care: "Other than medicating detainees with Thorazine (which is an older anti-psychotic medication with serious potential side-effects), the jail offers essentially no mental health services to its seriously mentally ill.”
•Unsanitary conditions at jail annex: "Detainees have no soap in the cells to wash their hands. Further, the toilet and drinking faucets are small units with the faucet and basin just above the uncovered, foul smelling, filthy commode stool. If a detainee needs water, the detainee has to cup his hand under the faucet and lap water from his hands close above the filth of the toilet bowl.”
•Fire hazards: "Fire safety is a grave concern for this jail. We found serious problems with fire safety training, policies, and safety equipment. Both staff and detainees are in serious jeopardy of injury or death during a fire emergency.”
Source: U.S. Department of Justice
What did report find?
Some of the critical portions of the Justice Department's findings:
•Security and supervision: "Actual direct supervision of detainees at the jail is virtually non-existent ... Frequent fights or altercations which occur in the cell areas are often the result of inadequate housing unit supervision by jail staff.”
•Inmate-on- inmate violence: "There is an inordinately high risk of detainee-on-detainee violence at the jail as a result of the jail's chronic overcrowding, the staff's inability to supervise detainees, and the ability of detainees to bypass at will the security of their cell doors.”
•Staff use of force: "Jail staff frequently resort to use of force to control events. Although such uses of force are not per se inappropriate, between January 2006 and March 2007 there were 1,337 reported use of force incidents. In the opinion of our expert, this is an inordinately high number of use of force incidents for a facility the size of the jail.”
Inside
•More findings from the report
Page 3A
Online
•Read: The report
•Video: Sheriff John Whetsel responds
On NewsOK
NewsOK Related Articles
What's to blame?
The federal report largely blames the mess on overcrowding and understaffing.
"I told you so,” said a news release from District 2 Commissioner Brent Rinehart, a longtime critic of Whetsel's jail management tactics.
Rinehart, who lost his bid for re-election in last week's primary, quoted the report, saying: "Actual direct supervision of detainees at the jail is virtually nonexistent.”
While overcrowding problems have lessened since the agency's inspections between 2003 and 2007, the jail still houses hundreds more inmates than it was built to hold, according to county officials.
About 50 new detention officers have been hired in the past year, but that progress will likely halt.
Whetsel said that he has ordered a hiring freeze because the removal of the federal inmates could potentially cost the county $3.2 million a year in lost revenue.
The federal government pays the county to hold federal inmates. Whetsel has also asked his top deputies to look at options to cut the department's budget.
Whetsel displeased with report process
County officials learned of the problems during an April 2007 meeting with Justice Department officials.
Based on that meeting, Whetsel then began correcting the problems and additionally prepared a 148-page response to the federal agency's 24-page assessment.
That report was delivered to the federal agency a year ago, and Whetsel expressed displeasure Monday that his report hadn't been factored into the report the Justice Department delivered to the county last week.
The Justice Department investigation of the jail was ordered in 2003. Whetsel said Monday he didn't know why the Oklahoma County jail was chosen for an investigation.
What are next steps?
District 3 County Commissioner Ray Vaughn didn't share Rinehart's assessment of the report.
"It's unfortunate that the report is a year old and has a lot of things in it that have been addressed,” Vaughn said. "I think things have improved considerably.”
Still, Whetsel has asked Vaughn to organize a committee that will research solutions to the problems at the jail.
The seven-member Detention Advisory Committee will likely be created at next week's county commissioners meeting, Vaughn said.
The committee will build on the work of the Jail Funding Task Force, which Vaughn said has run its course.
"These problems stem from a poor design in the structure to begin with,” Vaughn said. "The only solution to that is to try another structure, and we'll be looking at that.”
The U.S. Attorney General could file a lawsuit against Oklahoma County if conditions do not improve, according to the report.
Contributing: Staff Writer Jay F. Marks
Prev
Something to say about this topic? Submit a Letter to the Editor online
Thank you for joining our conversations on newsok. We encourage your discussions but ask that you stay within the bounds of our terms and conditions. Please help us by reporting comments that violate these guidelines. To review our rules of engagement, go to Commenting and posting policy.
Log in below or sign up (it's free).
Anything said here is not going to change the facts and tragic events that have occurred .. but may help others here see the real solutions on election day, November 4, 2008.
If anyone here has a problem with everything that has happened in the jail or sheriff's office, or feel that everything is okay with the present conditions of the sheriff's office ... by all means, be sure to vote for the person you believe is the right person for the job of sheriff.
A month later at my church, John Whetsel spoke there. I was there. He told every person sitting there that morning that no one ever sleeps on the floor. It just doesn't happen.
I personally have seen how Mr. Whetsel lies.
Paul, it is getting worse everyday, Tulsa is becoming complete chaos. Just wait till we get all the transplanted Seatleites!
Jim Heitmeyer