MINNEAPOLIS — Ramsey County leaders say they have submitted a plan to reduce capacity at the jail in St. Paul, an effort they say is to address serious safety concerns and comply with an order from the Department of Corrections.
"Our goal is to keep as many folks that are in our care in Ramsey County, in Ramsey County," said Ramsey County Board Chair Trista MatasCastillo. "We'll likely move some of the inmates — probably the women — from the jail to the correctional facility for a time, for a short time, while the other issues are addressed."
The list of issues raised by the Department of Corrections is long. In a scathing letter to Sheriff Bob Fletcher on Friday, Paul Schnell, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Corrections, wrote about three key violations that posed "imminent risk of life-threatening harm or serious physical injury" to inmates:
- Failing to meet minimum staffing requirements.
- A pattern of failure to conduct timely and appropriate well-being checks.
- Repeated incidents of failing to provide medical care to inmates as ordered
"There was a nurse who observed what appeared to be signs of a stroke," Schnell said. "They indicated that the person needed to be taken to the hospital and that transport to the hospital was delayed by over an hour."
"It's one of those things that you never, ever want to hear," MatasCastillo said. "But I always want to start by believing our staff."
MatasCastillo says the county voluntarily reported the issues to the DOC after spending months of trying — and failing — to address staff concerns with Sheriff Bob Fletcher.
"When we addressed the issues with the sheriff and didn't get a response, it left us in a place where we had to do something," she said.
Fletcher responded to the order with a written statement to KARE11 on Sunday, calling the overcrowding predictable, and blaming factors like increased crime, court backlogs and a national worker shortage.
"I share the concerns about overcrowding in our jails," Fletcher wrote. "In fact, it's an issue we've tried to raise with the county board for months and months, including as far back as last May."
Kent Erdahl: "He seemed to put it at your feet. How do you respond to that?"
MatasCastillo: "Our staff has always been willing — and the county board has been willing — to hear concerns and to address those concerns and we have been at the ready. You know, we've had communications back and forth (with the sheriff) about concerns and issues and there hasn't been a lot of follow-through on offers to assist until this point, when it's critical and we're now answering to another agency."
Erdahl: "Why should people feel confident that the Ramsey County Board and the sheriff can come together now and figure out a solution that works?"
MatasCastillo: "For us, it's really important that we put politics aside, put personalities aside, and take action. That's where we're at today, and we have the Department of Corrections that is overseeing it, that is monitoring and paying attention."
That monitoring will continue. After reviewing the capacity reduction plan, the DOC is requiring daily reports until it is accomplished. It is also imposing several requirements, including ongoing written reports any time the jail might exceed its new capacity.
Erdahl: "Do you have faith that those requirements will be followed?"
MatasCastillo: "I am hopeful that this has brought enough daylight and attention and more eyes onto a situation, that it will move us in the right direction moving forward. There's an underlying culture here that needs to be addressed, and those are leadership challenges that we can't shy away from. We will make sure that we continue to have those conversations and provide assistance in those areas to the Sheriff's Department and to the Sheriff."
KARE11 reporter Kent Erdahl reached out to Sheriff Fletcher for an interview on Monday, but was told that the sheriff did not have time.
Watch more Breaking The News:
Watch all of the latest stories from Breaking The News in our YouTube playlist: