Cuyahoga County Jail

With about 300 COVID-positive inmates and 69 staff members currently out with COVID-19 illness or exposure, Cuyahoga County is taking several dramatic steps to stem an outbreak of the coronavirus in the jail. The Ohio National Guard has been called on to fill in for sick staff, inmates meeting certain criteria have been released, and the state’s restrictions on inmate transfers have been challenged in court.

Cuyahoga County is accepting Oho Gov. Mike DeWine’s offer of National Guard troops to provide security support at county jails. DeWine made the offer in response to “the significant number of COVID-19 infections amongst state, county, and local corrections officers that has reduced staffing levels required to maintain safe and adequate security at some facilities,” according to a press release.

Updated: 1:15 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2020 Cuyahoga County has reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed after inmate at the county jail committed suicide. County council on Tuesday approved the terms of the $950,000 settlement with the family of Gregory Fox who died after he was found unconscious in his jail cell on Aug. 28, 2018, in an apparent suicide attempt.

Updated: 9:32 a.m., Wednesday, July 8, 2020 Cuyahoga County will hire a corrections expert to examine county jail conditions in what could be a step toward settling a lawsuit brought by inmates. County council on Tuesday approved the hiring of Martin Horn, a professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Horn also served as commissioner of New York City’s jail system and probation department under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The ACLU of Ohio is collecting complaints from inmates in Ohio through a new hotline and the organization is already pressing the state to play more of a role overseeing county and municipal jails through the coronavirus outbreak.

A Cuyahoga County corrections officer accused of assaulting and unlawfully restraining an inmate pleaded guilty Friday to his role in the incident, according to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office. Idris-Farid Clark pleaded guilty to attempted assault and extortion, both third-degree felonies, as well as unlawful restraint. Clark was accused of pepper spraying Cuyahoga County Jail inmate Chantelle Glass in the face while she was restrained in a chair in 2018.

Cuyahoga County may make it easier for employees to report whistleblower complaints within county government. County council gave a first reading to revised reporting safeguards Monday evening. Councilman Dale Miller, a Democrat who introduced the measure, said it grew out of talks with county Inspector General Mark Griffin. The changes are intended to give potential whistleblowers more comfort in coming forward with complaints, Miller said.

The number of people housed in the Cuyahoga County Jail continues to go down as improvements to the bail system across the county are implemented, according to members of the Criminal Justice Council. But advocates for bail reform and improved jail conditions say there’s still work to be done.

Drug companies may try to turn the tables on Cuyahoga County in the coming federal opioid trial, presenting evidence on the troubled the county jail and in the department of children and family services in an effort to minimize the role of their drugs in local problems. With jury selection scheduled to begin next week and opening statements set for Oct. 21, attorneys for both sides are disputing which evidence and witnesses should be presented at trial.

Updated: 4:40 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 25 Two Cuyahoga County corrections officers were found not guilty on three out of five charges in the alleged beating of an inmate at the county jail. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on two of the charges against John Wilson: felonious assault and interfering with civil rights.