Jury trial demanded over lawsuit against jail and COVID-19 response
A demand for a jury trial was filed in federal court Friday on behalf of Oakland County, Sheriff Mike Bouchard and Capt. Curtis Childs over a lawsuit alleging not enough is being done to protect Oakland County Jail inmates from the spread of COVID-19.
The lawsuit, filed in April by the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan and other groups, wants the release of all inmates over the age of 50 and others deemed medically vulnerable “during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Last week, U.S. District Judge Linda Parker heard testimony, declarations from inmates and attorney arguments as she considers the releases or possibly ordering other safety measures in addition to those that officials say are already in place to help protect inmates and staff from contracting the virus.
According to testimony and declarations from inmates, those in the jail have been unnecessarily exposed to COVID-19 and can’t adequately practice social distancing, and cleaning and disinfecting is lacking at the jail.
The lawsuit also alleges inmates have been punished for complaining about unsanitary conditions at the jail and that their constitutional rights are being violated.
County officials deny the allegations and have characterized the lawsuit as an “insult” and without merit. They maintain that efforts got underway in March in response to the COVID-19 outbreak and have since continued. Those efforts include:
• Testing all inmates for the virus, unless they refuse to be
• Educating inmates about symptoms and precautions to take
• Identifying a list of nonviolent offenders who qualify for early release due to COVID-19 concerns per a judge’s order
• Quarantine processes involving all new intakes, those who test positive and others who may have been exposed
• Enhanced cleaning and sanitizing
Further, officials say, programming has been canceled, visits are restricted to video — with only attorneys permitted to have the video visits onsite — masks have been distributed to all inmates, the jail has switched to prepackaged meals, staff is screened daily, and more.
Testifying last week, Childs — commander of corrective services — told the court that adequate social distancing is possible at the jail, where the inmate population is down nearly 50 percent from what it would typically be.
According to a news release from the sheriff’s office, as of May 14 the jail was housing 643 inmates. Ten inmates are currently quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19, and so far no inmates have been hospitalized or died because of the virus.