![]() ![]() Last year, voters passed a measure aimed at increasing accountability by requiring commissioners to make at least one additional inspection of the jails each year that includes a member of the public.įILE: The Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland, which houses a jail and four courtrooms.įederal rules require states to share all death in custody information, but no state law requires local governments to report deaths in custody. On Friday, Multnomah County commissioners toured both jails as part of their annual inspection. The sheriff said she’s also consulting with the National Institute of Corrections and expanding the availability of Narcan, an overdose reversal drug. But fentanyl “is not dense enough to show up on body scanning technology,” the sheriff said. Before that, county correctional officers relied on a body scanner. 2, the day after the most recent death in custody, Morrisey O’Donnell implemented a temporary policy to search people, naked, before they’re booked. Unlike state and federal prisons, which house people convicted of crimes, most people in jail have only been charged with a crime, meaning they’re still legally innocent. That’s based on what investigators have learned so far after speaking with other adults in custody, as well as where drugs are being found as people are booked into the jails. Morrisey O’Donnell said she does not suspect staff or corrections officers are responsible for smuggling drugs into the county’s adult jails. She oversees a jail system that has seen a recent spike in deaths.Ĭourtesy of Multnomah County Sheriff's Office “People are able to conceal drugs, particularly fentanyl.”įILE: Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell during her Jan. “We have people that are coming into our facilities daily, and we are seeing an addiction crisis in our community,” Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell told OPB. The county operates two jails, Inverness and the downtown Multnomah County Detention Center, that together can house more than 1,100 people at any one time The other four deaths are still under investigation, but drug overdoses are suspected in at least two, according to the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office. The county’s medical examiner determined two people in custody died by suicide.
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