Sheriff Streck’s house of horror

June 18, 2020, I published :Covid19 spreading in the Montgomery County Jail ^[1]
June 19, 2020 I published Sheriff Streck hits the panic button ^[2]

Some people started paying attention.

June 20, 2020 the Dayton Daily news publishes “Citizens demand action as jail’s virus cases mount ^[3]”

The sheriff writes a letter from the Montgomery County Jail to the staff around the 18th.

To All Jail Staff,

We wanted to give an update to all the jail staff about COVID-19 inside of the Montgomery County Jail. As you all are aware, we now have eight inmates inside the jail who are positive with COVID-19. We currently have 15 cells that are either Isolated and/or quarantined. Two employees to date have tested positive and another employee is waiting on a test at this time. We are asking all jail staff to protect yourself and treat every inmate inside the jail like they are positive. Wear the protective equipment we provide to you. If you need additional personal protective equipment please do not hesitate to ask.

Today we had a phone conference with the Bureau of Adult Detention in reference to the difference between housing locations that are quarantined and housing location that are considered Isolation.

Isolation Cells: This is for a housing location in which inmate(s) have tested positive with the virus and those Inmates need to remain in that housing location until cleared by medical to be  lifted off isolation.

Quarantined Cells: These are housing locations where an inmate who tested positive had been at previously housed (within the last two days) but there are no Inmates who are displaying symptoms, however to be on the safe side they housing location has been quarantined for the safety of staff and inmates.

If a housing location Is quarantined and/or Isolated no Inmates should be placed into, those housing locations until the housing unit has been removed from the quarantined list. Also Do Not move inmates around the jail unnecessarily. This will help up control the spread of the virus.

The movement of inmates only pertains their housing locations, we will still move Inmates throughout the facility for court, professional visits, medical visit’s etc.

If an Inmate test positive for the virus, medical staff will notify the on duty sergeant who will then provide the inmate with an N95 mask. The on duty housing sergeant who will then be responsible for placing signage on the housing locations that are isolated and/or quarantined.

The jail sergeants are updating the Isolation/Quarantined cells on a regular-basis and

posting those on the pillar out in front of the booking sergeant’s office.  The jail sergeants will also be receiving the list of inmates who have tested positive or inmates who are waiting test results. If you would like to know who those Inmates are please ask your supervisor. Again, please consider everyone you come in contact with inside the jail like they may have the virus and take all necessary precautions.

All cells that are isolated and/or quarantined will be marked with an orange sign (See attachment for further details).

I have also attached the updated time line the Jail Division has been keeping  since this pandemic started and all the things we are doing to keep employees and inmates safe Inside our facility.

The Sheriff has also sent letters to all police agencies In Montgomery County asking those agencies only bring people to jail who need to be here. Captain Julie Stephens has reached out to Probation and Parole asking them to limit the number of people they bring In and also look at their list to get the Inmates who do not need to be here out of the jail. We have also reached out to all the judges in Montgomery County asking them to review their dockets and release anyone who doesn’t need to be In the jail.

If you have any questions, comments and/or suggestions please feel free to contact us.

Thanks

Jail Command Staff

Yet, the very most basic rule of “don’t move the coronavirus contaminated folks around” can’t be adhered to. This is because there isn’t adult leadership at the jail. Between them and Napth Care, their contracted health care provider, they are taking the Trump idea that if you do more tests you’ll have more cases. Or- if you do less tests, you’ll have less cases. Can we cure Cancer like that? If we just don’t test for it, will it go away.

I can’t provide numbers of cases, and positive test results because they are going up faster than I can write. Yesterday as many as 15 cells on the third floor quarantined with at least 1 confirmed case in 10 of them.

The next day, on the 19th another email- warning staff not to leak. It’s taken as a “we’re watching you” warning.

To All Jail Staff,

We have received a few complaints in reference to officer’s personal social media pages and the content that is being posted and/or shared on those pages. An administrative review of these complaints have not yielded any content which would violate Sheriff’s Office Policy at this time. However we would like to caution employees to be very careful of the contents you are posting on your social media outlets. Content you may think is perfectly ok maybe read differently by others who may have a different viewpoint that you do.

There are also groups who are stalking law enforcement officers on social media and looking for reasons to target you solely because of the career you chose. Please use common sense when posting, commenting and or sharing content on social media.

We have attached the G.O.M. 2.1 .5, section F talks about Social Media. We are not attempting to silence any of our employees we are just bringing it to your attention that we have received  complaints .

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us.

Thanks

Jail Command Staff

It took me a bit to get the G.O.M. cited- or some part of it.

Internet, E-mail and Online Communications Policy        PSCAP 6.8.4

• Internet e-mail and other online communications, such as instant messaging, online discussion forums, and social networking sites, can increase efficiency, productivity, accuracy, and accessibility. However, improper use of the Internet, e-mail, and other online communications can endanger the security of computers and software programs, as well as create a variety of risks and increased legal liabilities such as:
• Exposure of the computer network to viruses and security breaches.
• Misappropriation of resources
• Disclosure of confidential information.
• Violation of records retention requirements.
• Harassment and discrimination.
• Loss of productivity.
• Unauthorized log-ins.
• Unauthorized software downloads.

2.1.5.4

Are the complaints they are getting from people like Ellis Jacobs with Advocates for Basic Legal Equality Inc. in Dayton? Or from Daj’za Demmings, executive director of Dayton Young Black Professionals?

Because, last I checked, many of the inmates in the Montgomery County Jail are still innocent until proven guilty, and being given a dose of Covid-19 before a trial amounts to a miscarriage of justice.

Maybe the only solution is to ask the Sheriff and his family to live in the jail until this crisis is over or resign. No one elected him to be judge, jury and executioner- but he is supposed to run a safe jail. Maybe, if he had something to lose, he might decide to take this more seriously. I know some of his overworked Corrections Officers no longer feel safe there thanks to his inaction.

When I last ran for Dayton City Commission in Nov of 2019 my first issue was to have a safe jail (and this was pre-covid-19). Many people told me that it was a county issue, and I didn’t know what I was talking about. Unfortunately, a majority of the people in the jail are usually City of Dayton residents, and I don’t believe a visit to the jail should be a possible death sentence- or a macing while restrained ^[4].

If the Sheriff can’t move all the infected inmates either out of the jail, or keep them effectively quarantined, and routinely test everyone else, we need to have someone that can take over the jail, or more correctly, Streck’s House of Horror.