The county did not admit any wrongdoing in entering into the consent decree. The county will have the ability to make an application to end the agreement when it feels it is no longer necessary, though ultimately, Judge Hillman will make the determination. The special master will provide oversight to the jail for an undetermined amount of the time. “My hope is that with the supervision of the master, I have comfort now that what is supposed to be done will be done.” “We got all the relief we requested,” said attorney Jeffrey Pollock, who represented the inmates. Under the order, the special master will look into issues that were raised by inmates and staff at the jail during the pandemic such as testing, contract tracing, the facility’s quarantine and isolation practices, ventilation, personal protective equipment availability, cleaning supplies, social distancing and recreation time. The special master will have access to the jail, inmates, county officials and health professionals who work at the jail. Once selected, the special master will file a full report on the jail and its handling of COVID-19. Within the next five days, attorneys involved in the matter will pick a special master and present the person to Judge Hillman, who will have the power to accept or object the pick. “Accountability of the warden, county administrators and county commissioners will have to be transparent (with a special master) and we are hopeful to be a part of the process.” “During COVID, since its inception we have suffered again resulting in deaths,” said Victor Bermudez, president of the union that represents correctional officers at the jail. Though the decision Thursday will now insert a third-party to oversee the jail to make sure that is happening. In his pre-trial brief, Gregg Zeff, who represented the county, said “the County and Jail worked diligently and together with medical provider CFG to obtain appropriate testing and PPE” and “implemented all procedures advised by the health professionals.” Throughout the course of the pandemic, inmates and officers at the jail have publicly denounced the jail’s handling of the virus.Īt least one inmate and one officer at the jail have died from the virus. The Cumberland County jail currently houses around 250 inmates, most of them pre-trial detainees. The inmates originally sued the jail’s warden, Charles Warren, and the Cumberland County Department of Corrections. “Because (the jail administration) have not taken adequate measures to control the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19, an ongoing crisis at the Cumberland Jail continues to threaten the lives of the inmates, the health and safety staff (nurses and doctors), correctional officers, and other staff living and working at the Cumberland Jail,” the lawsuit says. The trial was sparked by a lawsuit filed by inmates Raymond Lamar Brown, John Clark, Desmond Rodgers and Todd Ford, Jr., who have been detained at the jail during the pandemic, alleging they were denied masks, refused cleaning materials, unable to socially distance from infected inmates and denied COVID-19 testing. The consent decree comes after a two-week trial in which correctional officers, inmates, the warden and health and county officials testified to what was being done at the jail to protect its staff and inmate population from the deadly virus. “We have the ability to make that happen at our County jail, but we will need everyone’s help to protect themselves, their families and the public.” “The answer to this public health problem moving forward is to continue to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols as they are updated and to vaccinate everyone who lives and works at the site and in the County,” the statement said. “Whatever mistakes may have been made in the past to move forward and to put into place the best jail the county can run under the difficult circumstances we all face, I think having a monitor here makes a lot of sense in trying to achieve that goal.”Ĭounty officials said in a statement that the consent decree “safeguards the safety and health of inmates and staff.” District Court Judge Noel Hillman, who will retain ongoing jurisdiction over the jail and the supervision, said of the agreement. “This reflects a good faith effort by the county,” U.S. Inmates at Cumberland County Jail filed a class-action lawsuit against the jail's warden and the county DOC alleging they were denied masks, cleaning materials and COVID-19 testing.
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