A new heating system for the facility is on the horizon. Shortly after, the county announced it was putting out a contract to hire someone to investigate the deaths. Medical examiner: Natural causes listed in 3 recent deaths of Allegheny County Jail inmates Al Caponi, the countys director of facilities management, said each time the department has received a complaint about temperatures in the jail, it has taken readings on all levels. Long wait times for healthcare and generally understaffed with overworked staff. ACJ is failing to provide any meaningful mental health care to those in its custody, and in many cases is actually punishing individuals for seeking help, says Alexandra Morgan-Kurtz of the PILP [Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project]. This is clearly a failure of oversight and leadership by top jail staff, including Warden Orlando Harper. A referendum passed in spring 2021 limits solitary confinement at the Allegheny County Jail. "Sometimes medications are late and I'm going to leave it at that," Harper told JOB members. Allegheny Co. sued after jail allegedly failed to prevent the suicide e .Uo*AERYUJZN8wjw37L{>1MJt7tgxZHz1]^wyQ;q9mA(IBP2$:Cfl6'L~[~#. On March 7th, 2022, it was widely reported that another person, a man in his 20s, later identified as Gerald Thomas, had, . The employees union representing staff at the jail then. A written statement from the Corrections Officer Union was read at a Jail Oversight Board meeting, in which the Warden was called out for not providing enough information to staff, and for making it more difficult to comply with the referendum during a pandemic by cramming people into just a few housing units while other units sit empty. They basically tell you, this is jail. Also in March 2021, PublicSource requested documentation on the jails internal policies and received heavily redacted versions. From PublicSource: The lawsuit claims the jail does not provide meaningful treatment for individuals with mental health diagnoses and instead uses solitary confinement, irritant spray, a restraint chair and other forceful tactics.. Allegheny County Jail . PA Lawsuit Claims Allegheny County Jail Sergeant Brutalized Disabled 90.5 WESA. Grievances are brought to the attention of the Health Care Services Department through correctional staff designated to receive complaints. On July 19th, 2022, County Councilmember and Jail Oversight Board member Bethany Hallam pointed out Warden Harpers misleading statistics that dramatically understated the death rate at the jail. due to shortstaffing over three dozen jail staff tested positive for COVID, and there is only one nurse each shift for the ENTIRE jail population during a deadly pandemic. Attorneys with Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis joined the Pennsylvania Institutional Law Project and the Abolitionist Law Center in the suit. A group of inmates at the Allegheny County Jail have filed a federal lawsuit alleging a gross failure to care for their mental health, citing an environment in which staff belittle, abuse and mock them. On June 3, 2022, there was reporting on continuing staff shortages at the jail, including shortages of medical staff. This includes reports of an unclean kitchen with staff reporting problems with rodent droppings and roaches. Pennsylvania Police Are Sued After Murder Cases Collapse