Banner Graphic, Volume 21, Number 124, Greencastle, Putnam County, 29 January 1991 — Page 17

County jail conditions spawn federal lawsuit

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer The three Putnam County Commissioners and the former sheriff were greeted Tuesday by a United States Marshal, not with a smile, but with papers stating that the county was being federally sued for denying prisoners their constitutional rights. THE CLASS-ACTION suit, filed in the Southern Indiana District of the United States District Court by the Legal Services Organization of Indiana, names inmates Jamie Frazier, Clint Gibson and Barry Rominger as the plaintiffs. The suit states, however, that they are acting on behalf of all other inmates suffering from the same conditions. The class-action suit alleges that several problems exist in the inmate living areas, exercise and recreation policy, physical plant, safety, sanitation, clothing, personal hygiene, food, medical and health care, legal opportunities and that overall jail policies deny them their constitutional rights while being held in the facility. The suit states that both east and west cells of the jail are “at all times 100 percent overcrowded and routinely inmates must sleep on the floor in the common area.”

Board reaffirms central dispatch courthouse move

By ANGIE HOWLAND Banner-Graphic Staff Writer After scratching out and trying to cut costs, the decision whether to move Central Dispatch to the Putnam County Courthouse or to keep it in the Greencastle City Hall came down to numbers and trade-offs. And in the end, the courthouse won. The Central Dispatch Board of Directors decided Wednesday night to go ahead and move the emergency command center to the courthouse after they found a cost difference of about $15,000. THE MAJORITY OF the extra money would go toward expanding the dispatch center into the existing Greencastle Police Department offices, hooking up phone lines to the courthouse antenna tower and raising the City Hall and Central Dispatch doors about eight inches for water drainage. But there will be trade-offs with the move to the courthouse. The center, which will house the new Emergency 911 system, will be put in the renovated men’s lounge in the courthouse. That room has 391 square feet. On the other hand, if the center were kept in the City Hall building, dispatchers would have 742 square feet with which to work. CHIEF DISPATCHER Dave Costin said it would be nice to have the extra 300 square feet but that he “could live with just 391 square feet.” Board members Michael Harmless, David Bray, Bob Sedlack, Byron Snyder, Gene Beck, Gerry Hoffa and Costin also tried to scale down the construction estimates by James Architects and Engineers Inc. The members questioned paying $5,000 to bullet-proof the four courthouse windows and $1,500 to replace an exterior wooden door with a special security door. At first, board members thought they did not have to worry that much about the security, but Madison Township Volunteer Fire Chief Alan Bums thought otherwise. ‘THIS CENTER IS the lifeblood of the county’s emergency system, and you ought to protect it,” Bums said. Snyder explained that when he visited E-911 centers in Allen and Hancock counties, the areas were completely internal and secured. Mayor Harmless also questioned if state regulations concerning the center would be handed down that would necessitate maximum security for the area. But Gerry Hoffa asked that if the costs could be cut now in the event that the center would be moved into a new jail if the county decides to build one. HOWEVER, CHIEF Herman Cox of the Cloverdale Volunteer Fire Department stated that the board cannot “sit here and look down five years down the road and

THE LAWSUIT ALSO alleges that: door exercise and that because of the small cell size, they cannot exercise inside. None of the cells or cellblocks have interior lights. Most of the cells do not have both hot and cold running water and many lack any running water at all. Some toilets are inoperable and others back up frequently. This causes fouled air. There is only one shower per cellblock. Roaches and mice infest the entire facility. Food preparation is unsanitary. The medical care and health services provided at the jail are defective and endanger the health and safety of inmates. A physician is not readily available for medical emergencies. outside legal materials and the existing books are outdated and limited. THIRTY-THREE other charges are also illustrated. Sheriff Richard Lyon says it was only a matter of time until the county faced a lawsuit with the cur-

predict what will happen.” So board members decided to look into less-expensive security alternatives at a later time. Board members also decided that the center could operate on a $6,100, 8 KW back-up generator rather than a 20 KW model that costs $15,000. They will also have to decide on a manual halon fire extinguisher system that was estimated at $7,200 or regular handheld fire extinguishers. THE CONSTRUCTION, if agreed on by board members, will include a raised floor to place computer wiring underneath. James estimated that cost at $4,692. If the floor were put in City Hall, it was estimated at a cost of $8,904. Another deciding factor was an estimated annual cost of $4,320 a year for phone lines linking dispatch to the courthouse antenna if it was kept in City Hall. After the 2 Vi-hour discussion, board member and Greencastle City Councilman Sedlack made the motion to keep dispatch in City Hall. It was not seconded, however, and the motion died. THE DECISION TO compare the costs of both buildings came about last week when board member and Greencastle Mayor Harmless explained that the move would cost the city $35,000-$50,000. The board had unanimously decided last November to move the center to the courthouse. That increased cost would go toward maintaining the Greencastle Police Station’s 24-hour service after the move since dispatch and GPD is currently located in the same building. The cost would go toward hiring a person to man a reception area during night hours and some weekend hours at GPD. AFTER THE BOARD decided to move dispatch to the courthouse, Sedlack said that the city may want to first look into putting a monitor and emergency phone in the GPD reception area to handle late-night walk-ins. The monitor and phone would allow E-911 dispatchers in the courthouse to keep an eye on the area if someone who was hurt would walk in at the GPD station. Sedlack said he would like to try that less-expensive option for about six months and see how the public responds. If they do not like it, the City Council may opt to hire the secretary for a salary and benefits package in the range. The mayor also said the city would have to look into the legal and liability questions of the GPD monitor. HARMLESS SAID that if the city does not continue the 24-hour department, Greencastle would be the only city of its size to not have 24-hour coverage. “We will have to get a feeling from the public and GPD as to what they want,” the mayor said.

rent jail conditions. He said that during the last two years, two inmates have tried to file lawsuits for being denied the same rights as were stated in the current complaint, but the suits were dismissed. And within the last two years, the jail has sustained more and more problems in trying to house the increased numbers. THE JAIL, WHICH was first opened in 1939, has bedspace for 26 inmates. But for the last two weeks, the number of people being held has ranged from 32 to 48. Forty-seven inmates were being held in the jail Wednesday. Lyon is projecting the number to increase to 60 over this next weekend. That increased population causes severe tension between prisoners and fights break out. But Lyon says there is nothing his department can do because it does not have the room to move the prisoners to separate quarters. “Our hands are tied,” Lyons said. “We are beyond a crisis situation now.” THE COUNTY SHERIFF attributes the severe overcrowding to three main areas. The first is that the county is holding 15 prisoners for the Department of Correction who are waiting to go to a state

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prison. Last year, by holding that number of inmates, the county earned in excess of $75,000 from the state. The second reason for overcrowding is that the laws have changed that have added more jail time to sentences. And 10-15 people must serve time on weekends. Lyon said that in the past, the department has had to turn away “weekenders” because there was no room for them. “We are doing the best that we can with our existing facilities but we can’t change the jail size or the amount of staff that we have,” Lyon said.

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ANOTHER CONFLICT associated with trying to maintain order in the cellblock is that only one jailer is on duty per shift. The department has a total of five jailers. Sheriff Lyon said the jailers also spend their time giving medication to inmates, answering phone calls in the business office, taking inmates to the doctor and dentist and other duties that take time away from the constant monitoring of prisoners. According to County Attorney Robert J. Lowe, the solution may be to build a new jail. “We think that some of the areas that they (the

plaintiffs) pointed out are a little exaggerated but we have known for sometime that the county has needed a new jail,” he said. TUESDAY NIGHT, in the wake of the suit, County Commissioners Dennis O’Hair, Don Walton and Gene Beck unanimously approved the hiring of James Architects and Engineers to conduct a feasibility study on the existing jail. The study will address the county’s jail needs and how those needs may be met through renovation/expansion of the existing facility or construction of a new one.

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January 29,1991