The Milwaukee Post

2 • Milwaukee County Post • April 13, 2018 Schmidt focuses on inmates' health By RICH ROVITO Special to the Post MILWAUKEE — When he took over as act- ing sheriff, Richard Schmidt vowed to over- haul the Milwaukee County Jail, where seven inmate deaths occurred in less than two years. On April 5, as part of what he has dubbed a "transparent transformation" of the jail in the wake of a public outcry following the deaths, Schmidt made the unprecedented move of inviting the media and a group of public officials to tour the jail, allowing access to areas of the facility that almost always have been off-limits. "Seven short months ago, I took the acting sheriff's position. I immediately committed to transform the Milwaukee County Jail into a model facility," said Schmidt, who became acting sheriff in August following the abrupt resignation of David Clarke, who took a job with a super PAC supporting President Donald Trump. More than 34,000 people are booked into the jail each year. About 30 percent of the inmates have "serious mental health condi- tions" and another 30 percent have major medical problems, Schmidt said. "This is a very fragile population that deserves the best care possible," he said. "Many of them have been living on the streets. Many have very serious drug and alcohol addictions and other issues. My statu- tory obligation is to properly care for every inmate." The jail houses about 900 inmates. The process for change As part of the transformation of the jail, Schmidt brought in the National Institute of Corrections to review the entire jail opera- tion. The review occurred between Feb. 28 and March 2. The institute published a final report last week. "Their analysis was very thorough, beyond what I had actually anticipated," Schmidt said. The report contained 17 recommenda- tions, 15 of which already had been completed and implemented before the publishing of the final report, Schmidt said. The two recommendations not accom- plished at this point include a complete policy update and a thorough staffing analysis. The report concluded that the sheriff's department has "aggressively worked toward addressing" the recommendations in the report. Some of the recommendations included in the report are: documenting suicidal inmate checks at the exact time the checks occurred, developing a process to monitor individual employee overtime amounts, reviewing the inmate grievance system, and developing an inmate orientation procedure. Key actions taken include subjecting inmates to two hours less of lockdown each day. The jail had been plagued by persistent problems, including a rash of inmate deaths. Among them was Terrill Thomas, who died of dehydration in April 2016. Criminal charges have been filed against three jail staffers and Armor Correctional Health Services, a pri- vate medical contractor that provides servic- es at the jail, in connection with Thomas' death. The family of Thomas also filed a fed- eral lawsuit. Inmate deaths and medical care A court-ordered monitor of the Milwaukee County Jail found the deaths of three inmates, including Thomas, resulted from mistakes in medical care and the potentially poor monitoring of vulnerable inmates. Three inmates died between August and December 2017. Schmidt recently hired a trio of "wellness coordinators," sworn officers that he described as "highly trained and seasoned." "They spend their entire day, every shift, going cell to cell, looking at the vulnerable population specifically," Schmidt said. "That's in addition to the constant work by our med- ical and mental health staff, as well as our cor- rectional officers who interact with our inmates every day. We've added a half million dollars in resources to guarantee the best we can that the inmates receive the proper med- ical and mental health treatment." Volume 24, issue number 15 The Milwaukee Post (ISSN 1544-1776) is published weekly by Conley Media, Milwaukee County 3397 South Howell Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53207 For all departments call: 414-744-6370 News display and advertising FAX: 414-375-7070 Classifieds: 800-762-6219 ext. 5005 Classified Fax: 262-334-6252 For display advertising inquires: 414-744-6370 Barry Richards: Advertising Representative — ext. 13 brichards@conleynet.com Julia LeGath: Advertising Representative — ext. 17 jlegath@conleynet.com Jim Baumgart Advertising Sales Director — 262-513-2621 jbaumgart@conleynet.com For editorial questions: Dan Muckelbauer Editor 262-513-2626 dmuck@conleynet.com POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the Milwaukee Post 3397 S. Howell Ave. Milwaukee, WI 53207 Periodicals Postage Paid at Milwaukee, WI. Your weekly newspaper is run- ning obituaries and in memoriam notices to honor a loved one's memory. They are $85 per week for 300 words or less. The price includes a small .jpg photo or graphic such as a veterans flag. A full-column photo can be added for $10 a day. A short pending death notice will be $25. They must be prepaid. The obituaries deadline will be at 2 p.m. Tuesday before publica- tion. All obituaries need to be sub- mitted by email. Send them to postobits@conleynet.com. Call 262-513-2626 with any questions about the obituary serv- ice. Post obituaries guidelines Rich Rovito/Special to the Post Milwaukee County Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt gives a tour of the Milwaukee County Jail on April 5. Schmidt to remain acting sheriff MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee County Acting Sheriff Richard Schmidt will con- tinue to serve in that role until Jan. 7. On Wednesday, Gov. Scott Walker announced he would not appoint a replace- ment to fill the vacancy created by former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke's resignation. Clarke's term ends Jan. 7.. Walker said it's best to let the voters to decide who becomes sheriff. 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