ACLU suing King County over unsafe conditions in county jail

The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington says conditions inside the King County Jail have become so unsafe for inmates, the organization is now suing the county and King County Executive Dow Constantine.

The ACLU’s lawsuit says the suicide rate in the jail is eight times the national average. The lawsuit details how in the last year, some people have been kept in isolation for 23 hours a day for several days in a row — without a change of clothes, medical attention, or mental health evaluations.

The suit claims the issues are due to staffing issues at the jail.

“Unfortunately, over the past year conditions in the jail have really become pretty concerning and people are again not being transported to medical appointments that have been deemed necessary,” said La Rond Baker, the legal director for ACLU Washington.

Family members of people arrested and jailed claim in the suit that the conditions, the isolation, and the lack of resources made mental health challenges far worse.

The ACLU brought a class-action lawsuit against the jail in 1989, representing people incarcerated and the King County Corrections Guild.

“The ACLU of Washington sued King County over conditions in the King County Correctional Facility in 1989. There was overcrowding, lack of access to medical care, lack of access to mental health care, people weren’t regularly being transported to court, conditions were not great,” Baker said.

The lawsuit was settled nine years later, and the county agreed to improve medical care, protect people from assaults, and make other improvements in jail conditions. It was called the Hammer settlement, and the ACLU says King County is not complying with it.

The county declined an interview with KIRO 7 but sent this statement from Chase Gallagher, the communications director:

King County remains committed to providing safe, secure, and constitutional conditions for persons incarcerated in the King County Correctional Facility, and the County has worked collaboratively with the ACLU for many years to fulfill that commitment. Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the downtown jail has experienced significant operational challenges of testing, quarantining, and vaccinating, as well as staffing challenges much like those experienced by other industries and public sector institutions throughout the country. King County does not control who is booked into the jail or how long they remain in custody. King County has already taken substantial steps toward remedying staffing shortages, including offering signing bonuses for new hires, and important operational changes that have already resulted in demonstrable improvements. The ACLU’s proposed solution of restricting felony bookings is not the answer. The King County jail is the custodian of inmates who are arrested by a law enforcement agency. King County has no authority to unilaterally release or refuse to book persons arrested on felony charges. It is unfortunate that the ACLU has rejected continued dialogue and partnership in favor of a lawsuit, but regardless, King County will continue to work toward solutions that preserve public safety and provide appropriate conditions of confinement for persons housed in the downtown jail.

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