LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Metro Council heard the final update on the investigation into Louisville Metro Department of Corrections (LMDC) on Wednesday.
Former FBI and investigator David Beyer said he conducted over 60 interviews with administration, executives and staff and made several visits to LMDC's jail and training location.
While Beyer said "the prior leadership had some shortcomings" and the former director was dealing with COVID-19 and other issues, he said strong leadership can overcome that.
"There is no doubt that staffing is an issue," he said.
Beyer said officers were unsure of how many cameras they were supposed to monitor, and when he did the math, he found one person was responsible for more than 100 cameras.
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He added the two most recent jail deaths could have been prevented if cameras in the cells were monitored.
"Most of these incidents could have been prevented with a direct supervision model," he said.
Beyer said jail staff are missing "jail 101" and that "basic protocol has to be followed."
"Over the past 15 years, there have been a total of 12 suicides," he said. "Then all of a sudden we have this huge increase."
Beyer said poor and sometimes fabricated logs played a factor in every case.
However, Director Jerry Collins has brought in an excellent management team and is extremely passionate while putting in long days to change the facility according to Beyer.
Collins began tracking the use of Narcan in the jail, and since April 2022, officers have used it on 69 people.
As far as the actual facility, Beyer said a new one would help address the deadly issues at LMDC, and the sleeping arrangements.
He said there were 35-40 people in cells that are supposed to hold 20-25 and that they were "sleeping on concrete floors."
While people at the jail said the sexual harassment is "just friendly banter" he recalled cases of officers pulling out genitalia or groping women.
Collins required sexual harassment training, but Beyer said it was not enough.
"We have failed the officers and staff that work there, we failed the inmates that are housed there, and we have failed the community by doing so," Councilman Anthony Piagentini said. "I refuse to continue putting people into this position and expecting better results."
However, Mayor Craig Greenberg previously said, "building a new jail is not one of my top priorities right now but fixing the crisis inside our corrections system is."
Greenberg's office confirmed that this is still his stance on the issues:
We are committed to doing all we can to protect the health, safety and dignity of those housed in the care of LMDC. We appreciate the Metro Council for initiating this review, thank those who participated in it and will be carefully studying the report to identify action items to protect those incarcerated and our staff.Shortly, our administration will roll out several initiatives to increase transparency and increase the level of care for those in the care of the LMDC.
"There is a culture that needs a paradigm shift. But, I don't want to besmirch the wonderful correction people working hard," Beyer said at the end of the presentation.
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