FOI request in Garner prison death denied

HARTFORD — The state Department of Correction is refusing to release an incident report over the March death of an inmate at Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown that has since been ruled a homicide.

Hearst Connecticut Media, citing state Freedom of Information law, on June 18 requested the “incident report” regarding the death of an inmate who died while being restrained by officers.

Hearst specifically asked for the “incident report logged over March death of Jallen Jones, 31. Also, include the inmate’s disciplinary record at the prison and all other reports produced about his death” and the “names of officers involved in the death and restraint of Jones.”

FOI law is designed to propel transparency in government. Nationally, prison violence and funding cuts — especially at federal prisons — have been the subjects of news reports exploring a decrease in inmate populations and a rise in violence.

Craig Washington, supervisor and FOI administrator for the state DOC, on Thursday declined to release the report requested by Hearst, citing an ongoing investigation into the incident.

“The death that took place at Garner is still under investigation,” Washington said in an email to Hearst.

“At this time documents related to this unfortunate incident will not be released until the investigation has been completed,” Washington said.

“Once the investigation has been completed we will make a determination as to what documents are responsive to your request,” he said. “Unfortunately, I cannot give a timeline when the investigation will be completed.”

The report sought by Hearst would have been completed shortly after Jones’ death and likely would contain an initial description of what happened and who was involved.

Valicia Harmon, a staff attorney for the state Freedom of Information Commission, said DOC is correct that it cannot release information about an investigation until it’s completed.

But, she said, Hearst’s request for an already completed document could be releasable.

“Their response is it’s all one larger investigation,” Harmon said. “You could argue that this (incident report) is a discrete and complete report and should be disclosed.”

Kelly Donnelly, a spokeswoman for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, said transparency in government is a top priority.

“At the same time, it is also important to ensure investigations — whether that be internal or criminal — are not jeopardized so that appropriate individuals are held accountable for their actions,” Donnelly said.

“While we may lack the complete context of each unique request for information at agencies, we do expect that they fully understand and share our commitment to transparency with the public,” she said.

Jones, of Atlanta, had a history of mental illness and was being taken to a health unit when he became “non-compliant,” and “combative” with staff. During efforts to restrain him, officers deployed pepper spray.

Dr. James Gill, Connecticut’s chief medical examiner, said Jones died suddenly “during struggle and restraint with chest compression.”

In 2014, a total of 3,483 inmates died in state prisons, 444 in federal prisons and 1,053 in local jails, according to the latest numbers reported by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics.