SHERIFF SUES OVER CITY JAIL

Staff, Inmates At Risk, She Says

Richmond Sheriff Michelle B. Mitchell has filed suit demanding a new
City Jail or correction of the inadequacies of the current one.

In the suit filed last week in Circuit Court, Mitchell invoked state
laws that require the city to provide a jail that is secure, in good
repair and "otherwise adequate." The jail, which opened in 1964 at
1701 Fairfield Way with a capacity of 629 inmates, meets none of those
requirements, the suit alleges.

The jail's average daily inmate population exceeds 1,500 and "the
extreme overcrowding of the jail poses a risk to the safety of the
deputy sheriffs who provide security in the jail and to the inmates
who are housed in the facility," according to the suit.

Most inmates live in open dormitories with 50 to 60 cots. The design
of the building makes it difficult for deputies to move between the
dormitories when disturbances caused by the crowding erupt, the suit
alleges. "When disturbances occur, the dormitories are so crowded that
deputies may not enter the facilities until a large show of force is
available."

Because of the crowding, laundry, shower and kitchen facilities are
inadequate, the suit alleges. The design of the building requires all
inmates to be fed in a central dining hall, and "the population is so
large that feeding of inmates must begin at 4 a.m. and continues
virtually all day," according to the suit.

"Further, the jail is so crowded that it presents a risk of contagious
disease spreading throughout the inmate population," the suit alleges.
"The jail was not designed to deal with a population containing many
intravenous drug users who present unique health problems. For
instance, the jail has a large population of inmates who are HIV positive."

The jail lacks the space to provide education and other rehabilitative
activities, the suit alleges.

It also criticizes the condition of the lockup in the Public Safety
Building, for which the sheriff is responsible. The suit alleges that
the lockup "is too small, has crumbling walls and ceilings and is
infested with vermin."

The safety building is the subject of another lawsuit filed this week
by Richmond Circuit Court judges. They contended that the building is
"insecure or out of repair or otherwise insufficient."

City Council met behind closed doors for 22 minutes yesterday to
discuss both suits but took no action.

The judges' suit stems from discovery of asbestos and fungi around a
vent in the magistrate's office in July. A consultant hired by the
city concluded that the asbestos and fungi were in the normal range,
but the judges have hired their own consultant because they were
unable to understand the report of the city's consultant.

The safety building is more than 37 years old, and its occupants have
complained about leaks, rats, crumbling ceilings, odors and mechanical
and electrical breakdowns. It was insulated with asbestos before the
health dangers of that substance became known.

Michele Quander-Collins, a spokeswoman for the city, said yesterday
that the sheriff's suit is "a matter that's in the courts, and we're
unable to respond to it in the media."

Mitchell is facing six challengers in her bid for re-election in
November, but she insisted earlier when she threatened to sue the city
over conditions at the jail that it had nothing to do with politics.

She and City Council have been engaged in an ongoing battle over
$28,000 that Mitchell contends she was due for 19 weeks of unused
vacation time dating to 1994. Council members have insisted that there
is no authority for such payments and have demanded that Mitchell
repay the money.

Council members have threatened to take away the $13,557 supplement
provided for her annual salary of $107,175 as a way of recovering the
$28,000. Mitchell suggested earlier that her threat of a lawsuit over
the jail was responsible for the council's position.