Expert testifies on Sheriff Gusman’s ability to run jail

Expert testifies on Sheriff Gusman’s ability to run jail

Emily Lane of The Times-Picayune reports that Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman’s failure to comply with a consent decree that’s designed to make the jail safe isn’t for lack of trying, the lead court-appointed monitor of the jail testified Wednesday (May 25). “They just have no clue,” said Susan McCampbell, an expert in the field of corrections management.

McCampbell testified before U.S. District Judge Lance Africk, who is charged with enforcing the consent decree. She said the administration lacks a “baseline of knowledge” regarding best practices in corrections management (NOLA.com). The testimony came as attorneys for the Sheriff’s Office are arguing this week to allow Gusman to maintain control of the jail. The U.S. Department of Justice, inmate-plaintiffs, and Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration have asked Africk to appoint a third party, called a receiver, to run the jail. Doing so would strip Gusman of his office’s primary responsibility.

Africk heard testimony that the Sheriff’s Office is noncompliant with nearly 37 percent of the consent decree requirements, partially compliant with 57 percent of the requirements and substantially compliant with only 6 percent of the requirements. Africk pushed for McCampbell to tell him why she believed the Sheriff’s Office was failing to make progress (NOLA.com).

“Is it because he doesn’t have the will, lacks leadership, lacks the funds to do what he needs to do, refuses to do what he needs to do? Maybe he lacks the knowledge, or is there a combination of things?” Africk asked.

“He’s very passionate when he speaks,” McCampbell said. “I don’t think it’s lack of will, innate ability or intelligence to do it. … I think it’s absolutely a lack of knowledge about how to run a jail system” (NOLA.com).

McCampbell likened the Sheriff’s Office’s attempts to operate the Orleans Parish jail to “building something from the ground up and having a really poor foundation.” Gusman’s attorney James Williams cross-examined McCampbell for several hours, prompting her at one point to admit at least that Carmen DeSadier, the jail’s corrections chief with whom McCampbell as worked with in the past, had knowledge of corrections management.

“I think it was proven in court that I do have a clue,” Gusman said outside the courtroom. “Maybe the only clue I don’t have is her vision of Utopia,” the sheriff said, suggesting McCampbell has unrealistic expectations regarding conditions at the Orleans Parish jail. “It doesn’t exist” (NOLA.com).

In his statement, Gusman argued his office has made “substantial strides” toward compliance.

“As Sheriff, I have made tough decisions resulting in robust changes to the office. I hired a 30-year corrections professional to lead the jail. Chief Carmen DeSadier has full autonomy as she works to achieve compliance. At a time when the City refused to even suggest or help with a solution to house the acute mentally ill inmates, I created the Elaine Hunt mental health unit which was praised in court today by the lead monitor.

“The monitor’s comments in court today were insulting, derogatory and unfounded,” the statement continued. “The resulting headlines overlooked that fact that during cross-examination, she conceded my qualifications to serve as Sheriff as well as the progress we’ve made” (NOLA.com).

Underreporting of incidents of violence has been an ongoing problem McCampbell and other monitors have brought up to the judge. McCampbell testified Wednesday that she compared a log of injuries reported by the jail’s health care vendor, Correct Care Solutions, with an OPSO log of inmate injuries. She found that 40 percent of injuries resulting from violence or other jail conditions were not reported to the monitors by OPSO. Williams challenged McCampbell on her analysis, asking if standard medical calls unrelated to violence, like chest pains, accounted for some of the discrepancy between medical logs and OPSO incident records. She said they did not (NOLA.com).

McCampbell, under questioning, addressed staffing, as well. She said the sheriff’s office is “grossly understaffed,” pointing out that 145 deputies left in 2015, for a net gain of 34 guards. So far this year, there’s been a net loss of 40 guards. Fifty-six deputies have left OPSO in 2016, which she called “discouraging” (NOLA.com).

Understaffing is especially problematic in a direct-supervision jail, like the new jail, McCampbell said. Direct supervision facilities require guards to walk the tiers and “interact” with inmates. However, McCampbell said she has witnessed on some visits to the new jail tiers without a guard on his or her post. Williams noted, though, that guards in towers have some oversight of those tiers. He noted inmates tend to be in lockdown when no guard is present, a recommendation monitors made in the vent that no guard is available (NOLA.com).

McCambell said even when guards are at their post, the majority of the time they appear to be “cemented to their chair” at a desk, rather than walking the tiers to observe the inmates (NOLA.com).

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