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2021-05-12 MinutesBOARD OF SUPERVISORS MINUTES MAY 12, 2021 Supervisors in Attendance: Mr. James M. Holland, Chair (\✓ Mr. Christopher M. Winslow, Vice Chair Mr. James A. Ingle, Jr. Mr. Kevin P. Carroll Ms. Leslie A. T. Haley Dr. Joseph P. Casey County Administrator Mr. Holland called the special meeting to order at 2:00 p.m. 1. INVOCATION The Honorable Leslie Haley, Midlothian District Supervisor, gave the invocation. 2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE 3. WORK SESSIONS 3.A. RIVERSIDE REGIONAL JAIL UPDATE Dr. Casey stated he appeared on a radio show and discussed how Chesterfield employees, citizens and businesses have come together to develop strength in partnership and overcome distance by seeing more clearly, listening more intently, and feeling the sentiments of those most in need. He further stated Riverside Regional Jail is one such topic that is before the Board today. He stated the nine speakers would share their own expertise and vantage point and convey the sights seen and voices heard. He noted a Board meeting dedicated to a single topic is a rarity, but Chesterfield is the only locality offering a transparent, timely, and in-depth presentation on Riverside Regional Jail. He stated the Board would hear how Riverside was designed for Chesterfield to be the primary supplier of inmates despite having only a one -sevenths vote. He further stated even with such an imbalance, Riverside Regional Jail operated for many years as a model for himself and others to follow in setting proper funding sources, hiring qualified staff at market salaries, and earning national accreditation. He stated fiscal, staffing, and operational issues began to arise over time, mainly caused by an artificially low per diem set below the county's 21-257 5/12/2021 Mr. Matt Harris, Deputy County Administrator, led the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. 3. WORK SESSIONS 3.A. RIVERSIDE REGIONAL JAIL UPDATE Dr. Casey stated he appeared on a radio show and discussed how Chesterfield employees, citizens and businesses have come together to develop strength in partnership and overcome distance by seeing more clearly, listening more intently, and feeling the sentiments of those most in need. He further stated Riverside Regional Jail is one such topic that is before the Board today. He stated the nine speakers would share their own expertise and vantage point and convey the sights seen and voices heard. He noted a Board meeting dedicated to a single topic is a rarity, but Chesterfield is the only locality offering a transparent, timely, and in-depth presentation on Riverside Regional Jail. He stated the Board would hear how Riverside was designed for Chesterfield to be the primary supplier of inmates despite having only a one -sevenths vote. He further stated even with such an imbalance, Riverside Regional Jail operated for many years as a model for himself and others to follow in setting proper funding sources, hiring qualified staff at market salaries, and earning national accreditation. He stated fiscal, staffing, and operational issues began to arise over time, mainly caused by an artificially low per diem set below the county's 21-257 5/12/2021 recommendations, and the appearance of ignorance for the wisdom from Chesterfield, the only locality who runs a nationally accredited jail of its own that receives much praise and attention for its inmate care and programs. He further stated while the special meeting was called because of the recent state panel process that Mr. Jeff Mincks would elaborate on, the county was headed toward this day and discussion from the accumulated issues occurring over the past few years. He reminded the Board that the current Jail Superintendent appeared before them in September 2020 and stated Riverside would be off: probation by March 2021. He stated in November 2020 the Board Chair at that time, Ms. Haley, wrote a follow- up letter continuing with the county's concerns and offering to fully fund an independent consultant study to develop an improvement plan for Riverside, an offer that was ignored. He further stated in that same letter the county advised the Superintendent, and all partner localities and state officials, that unless conditions improved at the jail, Chesterfield would "be left with no choice but to consider all possible options to reduce its inmate population at the jail and to find alternative means to ensure that standards at the jail are improved and ensure that the authority is subject to proper oversight by all relevant governmental agencies." He stated the quote was about five months prior to the state panel's April recommendation to decertify Riverside because of three "jail responsible deaths." He further stated while the state is initially focused on these prior deaths and, he assumed, investigating even more Riverside recent deaths, the Board would be hearing from speakers who are much closer to the county's continuum of 500 -plus inmates. He noted that almost 175 of those inmates at Riverside are sentenced to a state prison and need to be moved by the state as soon as possible for the applicable care and attention of a state prison. He stated the speakers are all respected professionals in their fields of expertise and would speak in the following order: Mr. Jeff Mincks, County Attorney; Dr. Montovani Gay, Chesterfield Jail Medical Director; Ms. Sangeeta Darji, Chesterfield Criminal Defense Bar; Mr. David Rook, Chief Executive Officer of True Recovery RVA; Mr. Gary Hughes, Director of Community Corrections and Pre Trial Services; the Honorable Stacey Davenport, Commonwealth's Attorney; the Honorable Chief Circuit Court Judge Ed Robbins; Ms. Crystal Snodderly, former Riverside inmate; and Sheriff Karl Leonard. He thanked Mr. Matt Harris, Deputy County Administrator, and Sheriff Leonard for serving as the county's appointees to the Riverside Regional Jail Authority (RRJA) and for putting in countless hours and patience trying to make Riverside better every day. He especially thanked Sheriff Leonard, who receives pleadings daily from those at Riverside to be transferred to his jail and care. Mr. Mincks reviewed the structure and history of Riverside Regional Jail. He stated the regional jail operates under an authority structure which was created by the General Assembly in 1990 to assist a variety of localities in serving their inmate populations. He further stated the current members of the RRJA are Charles City County, Chesterfield County, Prince George County, Surry County, the City of Colonial Heights, the City of Hopewell, and the City of Petersburg. He provided the 21-258 5/12/2021 Board with an aerial photograph of the jail and explained that the jail operates under the philosophy of direct supervision in which an officer supervises each housing pod and works among inmates without any form of barrier or separation from them. He stated it is a personnel -heavy method to run, but it does work when there is a sufficient staff of correctional officers and support staff. He provided details of the physical layout of the facility and the staffing needs in each area. He stated all member localities have a Service Agreement with Riverside to provide inmates under a per diem payment structure. He further stated the Service Agreement is a complex document, but the standard of service that is provided is summarized as "[t]he Authority will operate and maintain the Jail in accordance with the provisions of the Act [that governs this Jail], the Rules and regulations of the Virginia Board of Corrections and all other Applicable Laws." He clarified the Virginia Board of Corrections is now known as the Virginia Board of Local and Regional Jails (BLRJ). He stated the BLRJ provides regulatory governance, operational oversight, establishment of health care minimum standards, and review of inmate deaths. He further stated the county was having conversations with Riverside long before June 2019 when the BLRJ made a fairly dramatic decision to place the jail on probation due to jail deaths and medical service problems. He went on to explain that the jail lost its long -held accreditation with the American Correctional Association in 2019 as well. He stated upon review in 2020 the decision stood, and it still stands to this day. He discussed a letter dated February 23, 2021, from the BLRJ to the Jail Superintendent notifying him that the facility would not be eligible for reconsideration of its probationary status until June 12, 2022. He stated the BLRJ has a Jail Investigation Committee whose main focus is the investigation of jail deaths, but it has the power to look at other matters as well. He further stated jail deaths were one of the reasons Riverside was placed on probation in 2019. He stated since being placed on probation, there have been five deaths at Riverside, and the Jail Investigation Committee found by unanimous decision that three were the responsibility of Riverside. He noted the Hampton Roads Regional Jail is undergoing a similar process. He reviewed the recommendations of the Jail Investigation Committee to the full BLRJ which are 1) finding three deaths to be the responsibility of Riverside; 2) decertifying the facility; and 3) returning all inmates to their jurisdictions of origin. He provided details of the decertification process, which is a regulatory process carrying many consequences, one of which is the inability to continue operations unless permitted by the BLRJ under its established terms. He stated another consequence of decertification is the cessation of all funding through the State Compensation Board. He further stated returning all inmates to their jurisdictions of origin is the most significant of all the available choices, and one which the county considers the most serious of consequences. He stated there must be a proceeding of the full BLRJ, which he heard may occur in June. He further stated staff will monitor what happens with that, but at the moment the county is dealing with a facility holding 550 of its inmates that is at risk of being decertified and all of those inmates being returned. He stated he believes Sheriff Leonard has put together a very 21-259 5/12/2021 viable plan in the event inmates are returned. He further stated staff is struck by the Jail Investigation Committee's unanimous recommendation by a vote taken in an open session with no dissension. Dr. Gay, Chesterfield Jail Medical Director, stated during his eighteen years of service he has had many occasions to speak to folks at Riverside and the medical staff there. He further stated in the beginning Riverside did have its own medical director with whom he spoke regularly. He stated when the medical director left, Riverside changed to a contracted medical model, and that is when communication lessened. He provided details of the difficulties he and his staff experience when calling the medical area, including being transferred to voice mail and having messages go unanswered. He relayed the story of a patient who was placed in a segregation cell at Riverside with standing sewer water for days, which is a sanitation concern. He shared the story of another patient who was receiving medication -assisted treatment while at the Chesterfield County Jail. He stated the treatment was tapered off ahead of the patient's transfer to Riverside, where medication -assisted treatment is not provided. He further stated upon the patient's return to the Chesterfield County Jail, the patient started to go through withdrawal and requested medical attention. He stated the patient should not have been going through withdrawal because he did not receive medication -assisted treatment at Riverside. He further stated the patient agreed he did not receive the medication from Riverside medical staff, but it was readily available and easy to get in the jail. He stated the patient was not the first one to tell him that. He further stated a urine drug screen confirmed the patient had the medication in i his system when it should not have been, and he dutifully J restarted the patient's medication. He stated this story is an example of illegal drugs that are in the Riverside facility, possibly brought in by Riverside staff. He further stated these are uncorroborated stories, but the similarities point to an illegal drug problem in Riverside. He shared another story of a patient with an insulin pump who was not allowed to use his meter while at Riverside, which is a patient care concern. He stated it is difficult to hear these stories, and, as a physician, it is very disconcerting. He further stated he has many stories, all similar, which are very concerning to him. Ms. Sangeeta Darji, Chesterfield Criminal Defense Bar, stated she would not speak to the unsanitary conditions in Riverside, including insects crawling on the wall and floor when Riverside staff and defense bar are walking along corridors; she would not speak to the debris lodged in the carpet and hard surfaces, rendering them unsanitary for members of the public and the defense bar; she would not talk about her client who died in his cell, and she had to find out in court because defense bar are told only that the inmate was discharged with no explanation; and she would not talk about the amount of drugs in Riverside and how easy it is to get illicit substances because the perimeter of the fence is not secure, allowing community members to find the holes and put drugs in. She stated she would, however, like to focus on the constitutional rights that are being violated by Riverside Regional Jail and 21-260 5/12/2021 the inability for the jail to provide adequate counsel to defendants, most of whom are being held pretrial. She shared the difficulties of defense counsel visiting with their clients, often having to wait over an hour and still not seeing them because staff cannot present them. She stated she is often told it is due to insufficient staffing or the client is in quarantine. She provided details of how the Internet video visitation services are nearly impossible to use; how defense counsel are denied visits while clients are in booking or the medical pod; and how counsel are not treated as professionals or allowed to take in their phones. She stated she believes her experiences are not different than those of her colleagues in the defense bar. She further stated the solution is to turn the inmates back over to Sheriff Leonard and keep them in the Chesterfield County Jail. She stated Sheriff Leonard needs resources, staff, and a new, up-to-date facility that will allow him to house all of the Chesterfield inmates locally. She further stated it is time to cut ties with Riverside Regional Jail. Mr. David Rook, Chief Executive Officer of True Recovery RVA, stated he has worked in recovery programs for almost a decade, and it is satisfying to finally hear something being said publicly about Riverside Regional Jail. He further stated most of his clients come from somewhere in the local criminal justice system, and he would hear horror story after horror story. He shared the story of one inmate who was court-ordered to True Recovery RVA, but she overdosed just hours before being released, and she was allowed to leave with someone other than a True Recovery staff member. He shared another story of an inmate who was released by Riverside, but she could not be released directly into a congregate living recovery program because she was positive for COVID-19. He stated she had to go to her mother's house instead where she overdosed and died. He further stated his staff will wait sometimes up to eight hours to pick up an inmate and then be told they cannot pick up the inmate because there is a discrepancy with the paperwork from the court. He stated this is a burden on his organization which operates on a limited budget. He further stated he stopped going to Riverside approximately six years ago because of the difficulties of meeting with the inmates. He provided details of having to provide detoxification treatments for benzodiazepines and opioids to clients upon discharge from Riverside. He stated the stories go on and on, and they do not stop coming. Mr. Gary Hughes, Director of Community Corrections and Pre Trial Services, provided details of his professional experience in the field of community corrections. He stated he has no choice but to draw a very stark contrast in the experience between a client who has been at the Chesterfield Jail and one who has been at the Riverside Jail. He further stated the collaboration between Community Corrections and the Chesterfield Jail is strong and probably the best he has seen in his 23 years of experience. He stated the collaboration is built on trust and open communication and always striving to do better. He further stated the present relationship with Riverside Jail is non-responsive at best, which poses problems for Community Corrections in promptly connecting with the 21-261 5/12/2021 client to ensure the start of services immediately upon release. He stated the pathway to success is excellent with the Chesterfield Jail, but it is not with Riverside. He discussed the many services and programs provided by Community Corrections and stated a common theme among clients is testing positive for a wide variety of drugs within the first eight to forty-eight hours of release. He further stated upon inquiry many clients state they used drugs in jail. He stated this is not the story or experience with the Chesterfield Jail. He further stated one of Community Corrections' significant concerns is that their clients, immediately upon release, are testing positive for drugs. He provided details of clients being released without monitoring devices; difficulty communicating with Riverside Jail departments; and inability to figure out where a client is. He stated Community Corrections conducts a number of evaluations to determine eligibility for different programs, and this process is very easy with the Chesterfield Jail whether done virtually or in- person. He further stated the evaluations are hit or miss with Riverside, which poses problems for Community Corrections to meet court deadlines. He discussed how individuals with mental health diagnoses often carry their medication with them to Riverside, but it is not administered to them while they are incarcerated, nor do they receive at least a weeks' supply upon release. He stated this puts pressure on Community Corrections to get the medication to the client in a timely manner, and the delay does not set the client on a path to success. He further stated his clients do not share this experience at the Chesterfield Jail. He stated his staff often receives requests from clients who do not want to be sent back to Riverside. He further stated at the end of the day, he has no choice but to draw that contrast, and Community Corrections sees and hears it day after day while supervising over 2,000 clients. He reiterated that the contrast is stark; the relationships and experiences are very different; and the trust, communication, and collaboration are very different. The Honorable Stacey Davenport, Commonwealth's Attorney, stated prior to being elected Commonwealth's Attorney, and prior to her prosecution experience in other jurisdictions, she was a criminal defense attorney for over 10 years, and she spent a significant portion of her professional career in Riverside Regional Jail. She further stated the concerns raised by Ms. Darji, and the concerns she herself would raise, are not new or surprising because they date back to when she was a defense attorney. She stated she would discuss her concerns about Riverside in order of importance to her, the first one being medical care. She further stated her office is frequently contacted by defense counsel, family members, and victims about the care that is being provided in Riverside Regional Jail. She stated while some claims are unverified or do not receive a response, others are valid claims of inmates not receiving adequate medical care. She further stated there was a period of time within the last 12 months when medical care was contracted out to Wellpath, and the physician assigned at that time was incredibly responsive. She stated the jail has since reverted to a contract with a previous provider, and problems making contact and getting answers have resumed. She further stated attorney-client visitation is a huge due process issue, 21-262 5/12/2021 and she is constantly, personally contacted by defense attorneys who are having problems getting access to their clients. She stated her office is contacted by members of the bench because, at arraignment, defendants indicated they intended to hire counsel but were denied access to a telephone. She further stated this results in the judge asking someone in the courtroom to contact the named attorney and notify them that the defendant wants counsel. She discussed contact visits in enclosed rooms, which have had to change because of the pandemic, but in Riverside attorneys are sent into the public visitation space containing multiple attorneys all meeting with their clients at the same time. She stated the attorneys have severe concerns about the ability to have confidential conversations with their clients. She discussed the impossibility of having a meaningful exchange of restricted, sensitive information when someone is sitting 10 seats down trying to do the same thing. She stated her office receives frequent requests from defense counsel to facilitate the return of their clients to the Chesterfield Jail because the attorney cannot access their client to prepare for trial. She further stated the next issue is service of direct indictments on defendants, which is a constant, ongoing problem with defendants housed in Riverside. She stated this results in a continuance which delays the entire process for the defendants. With regard to illegal drugs in the Riverside facility, she stated she can verify that it is, in fact, a problem. She further stated her office received a communication less than 60 days ago about a current investigation related to that problem. She stated her highest concern is a specific incident that occurred in July 2020. She provided details of a defendant who pled guilty to two counts of forcible sodomy against a victim under the age of 13 and was being held for sentencing in Riverside awaiting psychosexual evaluations. She stated her office was notified that, based on a conversation the defendant had with a member of the staff at Riverside, he was released on July 16, 2020. She further stated it is believed he is currently in Guatemala, and the federal government is attempting to help her office locate him and return him to the United States for sentencing. She stated she could not assure the Board that that would happen. The Honorable Chief Circuit Court Judge Ed Robbins stated the Court hears the same stories about inmate treatment and inadequate inmate medical care every day. He further stated professional visitors, including defense lawyers, program staff, and probation officers, have shared with the Court their ongoing difficulties meeting with Riverside inmates timely, securely, and privately to complete their tasks. He stated he is certain the Board has heard, just as the Court has heard, about the persistent use of narcotics smuggled into the jail. He noted the stories have different inmates and different timeframes but eerily similar facts, and these issues concern the Court deeply. He stated several judges, including himself, have visited Riverside to see the conditions of the facility firsthand and express their concerns onsite with the way inmates are being cared for. He further stated he and his colleagues have met with each of the six superintendents of Riverside at least quarterly since October 2017, bringing specific issues and problematic cases to their attention. He 21-263 5/12/2021 stated he and his colleagues have been continually exasperated to find similar issues arising repeatedly, and assurances of remedial action did not seem to result in permanent, substantive improvement in these areas of concern. He further stated on occasion and in individual cases specific remedial action by Riverside has been taken in response to a matter the Court brought to Riverside's attention, and for that the Court is grateful. He stated just last month Colonel Leabough responded to his inquiry about a specific inmate's medical care for their gunshot wounds. He further stated about a year ago Dr. Casey, the president of the Chesterfield Bar, the Chesterfield Commonwealth's Attorney, and he attended a public budget meeting of the Riverside Board where it became apparent that Riverside is severely fiscally stressed, and budgets were balanced on unfilled jail officer vacancies, deferral of capital maintenance projects, and the use of rainy -day funds. He stated to his recollection the number of unfilled jail officer positions then numbered about 75, and annual jail officer employee turnover was significant. He further stated to his recollection Riverside had about a dozen training slots available each year at the Criminal Justice Academy to train newly hired jail officers, a number that was not even close to the annual, newly -hired jail officer population that needed that training. He stated after that meeting it was no longer a mystery to him why persistent problems just did not seem to get resolved and stay resolved. He further stated he was the presiding judge in the case of the convicted sex offender who was allowed to leave Riverside, and what Ms. Davenport relayed to the Board was accurate. He stated while he did not know what time the inmate was released, the Prince George Police Department arrived at Riverside at 1:57 a.m. the next day, Friday, July 17, 2021. He explained that most confinement i facilities count inmates five times a day, and he would expect that Riverside does as well. He stated unless releases were occurring in the middle of the night, the inmate had an hours - long head start on law enforcement with regard to his escape. He further stated that man was able to walk out the front door of his confinement facility because the Riverside officer responsible for his release did not follow release protocol. He stated one has to ask why that officer did not follow the protocol, and he quoted published comments by the present superintendent who stated the officer was "swamped due to a lot of releases that day." He further stated regrettably this course of events and explanation did not surprise him, and, once again, not enough staff or insufficient training for the staff entrusted with this tremendous responsibility certainly appears as a. root cause of this failure. He stated there are very real consequences to public safety that result from this untenable state of affairs. He further stated individuals entrusted to Riverside to be safely and securely housed are there because a judicial process determined that confinement was the proper action to take in their case at that time. He stated whatever else might be true, inmates are human beings deserving of basic human decency, and many of them are our neighbors, friends, children, parents, and certainly our brothers and sisters. He further stated we, as a community, must do better, and we can do better. He respectfully asked the Board to support Sheriff Leonard's efforts to take the 21-264 5/12/2021 actions necessary to ensure that all inmates are safely and securely housed. Ms. Crystal Snodderly, a former Riverside inmate, shared her experience of being held in Riverside after her arrest on drug possession charges. She stated she informed the medical staff that she was in acute withdrawal from Xanax and heroin, and she was sent to a cell with three other women in medical housing for detoxing. She further stated she was given a mat and put on the floor, and other than the nurse who walked down the l(W hallway of medical housing, that was the last time she saw anyone from medical or a doctor for the next seven days. She stated during that time she was unable to move, and she was defecating, vomiting, and urinating on herself. She further stated her only advocates were the other female inmates who pushed the button, beat on the door, and panicked because she was too sick to advocate for herself. She stated her fellow inmates told the correctional officers that she was going to die if they did not help her, and she had a memory of an officer saying she did it to herself and she should not have done drugs. She further stated regardless of their opinion on addiction, she was sick, she has a family, she has a mother, and she has children. She stated she did not know it then, but she knows now that benzodiazepine detox and alcohol withdrawal can be deadly. She further stated around day five she was given Imodium, but that was the only medication she was given, and her vitals were not taken. She stated her vitals were taken around day seven, and she was sent off to the pod where the next 30 days were a blur and she was like a zombie walking around. She further stated she has heard so many stories like her own, and she hoped it was the last time she would have that experience. She stated she can echo the comments from others about the health care from Riverside, the detox, and the understaffing. Sheriff Leonard thanked the Board for holding the special session, and he thanked Ms. Snodderly for sharing her story. He stated when dozens and dozens of people with no connecting factors between them all tell a very similar, if not exactly the same, story, one must give credence to it. He further stated there is a young lady currently in the HARP program in the Chesterfield County Jail who was left in her Riverside cell with an inoperable toilet during her menstrual cycle. He stated she was left to lay in her own urine and blood for days, and, when she asked for help, she was told to use a sock. He further stated while it sounds like an unusual story to which you would give little credibility, he has heard that particular story several times from several different people. He stated the Chesterfield County Jail was the subject of an unannounced inspection conducted by the Department of Corrections (DOC) from April 27 through April 29, 2021. He further stated the last inspection occurred in September 2020, and at that time the Chesterfield County Jail was found to be one hundred percent compliant. He stated as a result of this recent inspection, the Chesterfield County Jail was found once again to be one hundred percent compliant with health, life, and safety issues. He provided the Board with a timeline of the county's involvement with the RRJA and the opening of the Riverside Jail on July 12, 1997. He provided statistics of 21-265 5/12/2021 Riverside's budgeted inmate population per member locality, noting Chesterfield is budgeted for 475, but the actual Chesterfield population as of this meeting was 546. He stated Chesterfield has the largest inmate population, which is consistently at around half or sometimes more, and that has always been the case. He further stated there is a direct correlation between inmate population and funding to Riverside, with Chesterfield contributing about half of the Riverside revenues but having only a one -sevenths vote. He reviewed the history of the 1962 county jail which aged out and was replaced, bed -for -bed, in May 2006. He discussed the process for transferring inmates to Riverside. He stated the decision to transfer is made arbitrarily and based solely on space availability. He provided statistics of the Chesterfield County Jail's intakes, which average 13,5000 per year, and jail deaths, which average 0.8 per year. He noted that none of the 8 deaths in the last 10 years were deemed to be the responsibility of the Chesterfield County Jail, and there has not been a jail -responsible death in its history. He discussed out -of -compliance, or state -responsible, inmates housed in Riverside and stated there have been state -responsible inmates housed in Riverside for hundreds and hundreds of days in violation of state law which dictates they be removed within 60 days of the final sentencing order. He further stated today there are approximately 200 state -responsible inmates in Riverside at a cost of $46 per inmate, per day. He stated he has been constantly prompting the DOC for several years to receive these inmates, and it is not a COVID-19 issue although it has been exacerbated by COVID-19. He further stated with a personnel shortage of over a hundred correctional officers today, it is imperative that the inmate population be reduced to improve the officer -to -inmate ratio, thereby making it a safer place for inmates and staff. He stated if, in fact, Riverside is decertified and closed, DOC needs to receive its inmates and not place that responsibility on the local sheriffs who have inmates there. He provided details of a letter and an email he wrote over a week ago to the Secretary of Public Safety, Mr. Brian Moran, and the Director of DOC, Mr. Harold Clarke, begging them to relieve Riverside of out -of -compliance inmates, but: he has yet to receive a response. He stated Chesterfield taxpayers, along with the taxpayers of the other member localities, are bearing the burden of paying the per diem for inmates who are not legally local- j urisdiction- responsible inmates. He further stated Chesterfield taxpayers alone are paying over $3.3 million per year which they should not bear the burden for. He stated the state taking responsibility for its inmates is a funding issue, it is a safety issue, and, more so than ever, it has to be done in the event Riverside is decertified and closed. He then outlined his plan for depopulating Riverside. He stated in January 2020 he expressed his concern for the safety and welfare of the inmates at Riverside to the Board and advised he would start moving inmates to other facilities in Virginia. He further stated the Board then provided additional deputy staffing to increase capacity, thereby allowing him to bring one hundred inmates back to the Chesterfield County Jail. He stated he was all set to move the inmates back to the Chesterfield Jail and another facility when COVID-19 hit and shut down the plan. He stated he wanted to be clear that shifting inmates to other 21-266 5/12/2021 facilities is not dependent on the outcome of the upcoming BLRJ meeting, but it is dependent on Riverside getting to the position where minimum standards of care, especially for health, life, and safety, are being met. He emphasized the goal is to get Riverside to the minimum level of standards of care, because it is not even at that point yet. He stated even if Riverside decided to unfreeze and fill 82 positions, those correctional officers would not be certified to work in the jail for a long time due to the lengthy hiring and training process. He estimated it could be a year before those officers could be qualified and certified to work in the back of the jail. He noted Colonel Leabough did make a recommendation to the BLRJ a couple of months ago to pull out of the Crater Criminal Justice Academy and run his own academy at Riverside, which Sheriff Leonard thought was a very good idea, but the BLRJ was not supportive. He stated Colonel Leabough also made a request to increase the pay of correctional officers at Riverside, which Sheriff Leonard supported and believed it needed to be higher, but the request did not gain any traction. He reiterated that, even if Riverside unfreezes 82 positions, the solution would not be there for probably a year. He stated last week he already started to shift many of the inmates, and it will be an ongoing, continuing operation. He further stated by fully utilizing all space at the Chesterfield Jail; by utilizing agreements in place with other facilities; and providing the state does take responsibility for state - responsible inmates, he has secured the beds needed to depopulate Riverside. He shared the Sheriff's Office pledge, which is a duty to serve and a passion to do it with dignity and respect. He acknowledged he gets calls almost every day from family members begging to have their loved ones brought back to the Chesterfield Jail. He stated the Chesterfield Jail is run by rules, but it treats everyone with dignity and respect. Mr. Holland thanked the speakers and expressed appreciation for their knowledge and expertise. Mr. Winslow stated all of the testimony taken together is extremely powerful. He further stated what is most alarming to him is the Authority's lack of response to repeated questions and efforts at outreach to improve. He stated if Colonel Leabough and the Authority were present he would say it is their job to keep people safe and alive according to minimum standards. He further stated the inmates are family members and human beings regardless of the reason for their incarceration. He stated there is a culture of absence of care, diligence, response, and love for fellow man. He further stated he has heard accusations of Riverside staff accepting payments for protection, for bringing drugs into the jail, for moving inmates from one cell to another, and for simply providing medical care. He stated one cannot pay a correctional officer $30,000 per year and expect that some of them will not come in immediately looking to supplement their income. He further stated this is a real problem not just at Riverside Jail. In response to Mr. Winslow's question relative to communications with Riverside medical staff, Dr. Gay stated he 21-267 5/12/2021 does provide updates on patients transferred to Riverside as well as those transferred from Riverside back to Chesterfield. In response to Mr. Winslow's question relative to patient medical records and reporting standards, Dr. Gay stated he and his staff are patient advocates, and he instructs his staff to send everything including mental health notes, laboratory results, consults from outside physicians, and old records from elsewhere which gives Riverside the opportunity to treat the whole patient. In response to Mr. Winslow's question relative to Dr. Gay's knowledge of whether those records are reviewed and an assessment completed at Riverside, Dr. Gay stated he does not know if it ever is. In response to Mr. Winslow's question relative to what documentation Dr. Gay receives from Riverside, Dr. Gay stated he sometimes, rarely, receives a printout from Riverside's electronic medical records which consist mostly of intake forms. He further stated he is a stickler for formatting of reports, and Riverside's documentation is a lot of information that does not tell him anything. In response to Mr. Winslow's question relative to whether Dr. Gay receives phone calls from Riverside medical providers updating him on a patient's status, Dr. Gay stated he rarely gets those types of calls. He echoed Ms. Davenport's comments about the Wellpath physician, Dr. Lee, who was very responsive and with whom Dr. Gay spoke almost weekly. He stated Dr. Lee was new to correctional medicine and was seeking a mentoring relationship with Dr. Gay. He stated prior to Dr. Lee's arrival he did not have much contact with the facility, nor has he had much contact since Dr. Lee's departure. Ms. Haley recalled that the Board met with the Riverside Superintendent a year ago and offered resources and a partnership to help solve the problems. She stated she felt the Board walked away from the meeting disturbed at the lack of responsibility and attention to adequate and appropriate standards. She further stated the unwillingness is unacceptable and not a standard to which Chesterfield adheres. She commended Sheriff Leonard for developing a plan and stated the county cannot continue down this path. She thanked the speakers for sharing their stories, and stated the information is incredibly troubling and so unlike what Chesterfield adheres to as a county. Mr. Carroll inquired of Dr. Gay if the patient who returned to the Chesterfield Jail with drugs in his system had disclosed how he obtained the drugs in Riverside. Dr. Gay stated he posed that question in a roundabout way, and the patient just smiled. 1J Mr. Carroll stated if there was even a hint of staff bringing drugs into the Chesterfield Jail, the Sheriff's internal affairs investigative unit would be all over it to determine 21-268 5/12/2021 if an employee was doing something he should not have been doing. In response to Mr. Carroll's question relative to the type of drug in the patient's system, Dr. Gay stated a urine drug screen confirmed it was buprenorphine, also known as Suboxone. Mr. Carroll stated when a law enforcement officer takes someone into custody, the officer is responsible for that person's life from the time they are handcuffed until they are handed over to the jail facility. He further stated the correctional officer is then responsible for the person's life from the time they are taken in, through the time they are in the court system, through the time they serve their sentence, to the time they are released. He stated that is the system this country has put into place to deal with people who violate the laws. He further stated based on the testimonies given today and previous testimony given by others, the system is broken at Riverside Regional Jail. He stated this is not just a pay issue or an understaffing issue, but an issue of people not wanting to work there because of the bad reputation and conditions. He further stated it is time to push the state to continue with its recommendation to close the facility. He expressed his hope that regional partners will watch this meeting and either support closure of the facility or join Chesterfield in finding a way to fix the problems, but he noted it is a long road to do that. Mr. Ingle inquired whether Sheriff Leonard could confirm an area of missing fence around the perimeter of the Riverside facility, a broken window where drugs are reportedly thrown into the facility, and jail leadership's delayed response to fix the breach. 21-269 5/12/2021 Sheriff Leonard stated breaches in the security system need to be fixed. He further stated he has been hearing for a long time now about drugs getting into Riverside through an area of the jail that does not have a perimeter fence, that does have a broken window, and drugs are just tossed into the window. He stated at January's meeting, Colonel Leabough verified that was the case, and at that time Colonel Leabough put in a request to purchase a perimeter fence. He further stated in speaking with Colonel Leabough at a special meeting last week, that fence still is not in place as of now. He stated back at the January meeting the RRJA Board decided to put this in as a Capital Improvement Program item, and he made it a point to bring it to everyone's attention that he thought there was some certain liability that befalls the RRJA Board if it is not fixed right away. He further stated without it being fixed, the opportunity to still get drugs in the facility is there, and as long as drugs can get in there, people can take them, overdose, and die. He stated unfortunately there was another Chesterfield inmate death just a little over a month ago, and he has not heard anything from Riverside about it other than that it occurred. He further stated he knows none of the facts, he has heard nothing about the investigation, whether internal or external. He stated he hoped it was not a drug related death, because he had made it a point that the breach needed 21-269 5/12/2021 to be fixed yesterday, not part of a CIP, and not tomorrow, but yesterday. He further stated the story is true. Mr. Ingle applauded Sheriff Leonard for bringing these issues to the Board's attention and working diligently over the years to offer help that was rejected. He stated at this point there is no other choice but to pull out the Chesterfield inmates and relocate them somewhere else. He then inquired what obligates the county to continue making payments on out -of - compliance inmates. j Mr. Mincks stated he would rather not give legal advice in public as it pertains to that, but staff would get back to the Board on that question. He further stated financial issues would be dealt with at some point, but the issue right now is physically transporting prisoners that should be in the state system out of both the Riverside and Chesterfield jails. Mr. Ingle agreed and stated he thought it would aid the facility to send them on to the state. Dr. Casey stated the county pays the full per diem for these inmates every day, and the state also writes a check for a nominal share of $8-$12 per day. He further stated the regional jails are set up to run like pseudo -businesses, and there is no incentive for the regional jails to get the inmates out as long as they are getting $46 per inmate per day from the county and $8 per inmate per day from the state. He stated a person who is sentenced for a state term after 60 days shall be taken to a state facility, and the inmates should go there to access certain amenities and programs of a state prison system. He explained that one cent of the tax rate goes toward nothing more than the state not taking care of its own inmates. Mr. Holland stated this is totally unacceptable. Mr. Ingle stated his point was that the facility has no incentive to help the state fulfill its obligations. He further stated he is looking for a way legally to help the facility and the state to meet their obligations, and he looks forward to Mr. Mincks' suggestions. The following is a verbatim transcript of Mr. Holland's closing remarks, at the request of a Board member: MR. HOLLAND: Mr. Ingle, let me just take this opportunity - I have one question of you, Sheriff - Sheriff Leonard, you mentioned that you sent a letter to the Secretary of Public Safety, and you've gotten no response at all; is that correct, Sir? SHERIFF LEONARD: Yes, Sir. MR. HOLLAND: When do you anticipate they may respond, or if they may respond? J SHERIFF LEONARD: Yes, Sir. MR. HOLLAND: When do you anticipate? You don't? 21-270 5/12/2021 SHERIFF LEONARD: The letter was physically mailed two Fridays ago. MR. HOLLAND: Okay. SHERIFF LEONARD: On that same day, I emailed an electronic copy of that mail to both the Secretary of Public Safety and the Director of Corrections, Harold Clarke. Monday of this week, I did send another email back to the Secretary just asking him if he received my other emails and hard letter. FURMS 9. • : NP Rs I'm *I SHERIFF LEONARD: I do not know if I will hear back. I will tell you I've been asking for these inmates to be removed for the last three years. I do it about every other month. They know this is close to my heart. They know I'm a huge proponent of getting them moved. It's not just because of this recommendation from the Board of Local and Regional Jails. It's not just because of COVID. I have been asking for this for years now. And I've never been able to gain traction. MR. HOLLAND: Thank you, Sir. The conditions that have been described today are just deplorable. It's unacceptable as Ms. Haley stated. It's not up to Chesterfield standards, and that's unacceptable. To violate someone's Constitutional rights is also highly unacceptable. This Board will not tolerate that here in Chesterfield County. And the fact that someone was released, as stated by the Commonwealth Attorney, is just unacceptable and it just cannot be done again. I've heard ` enough. ((✓ And at this point I'm asking that we as a Board, Dr. Casey, take action to not wait six months, nine months, but to move expeditiously to remedy this horrible, deplorable situation. Every person deserves decency and respect, as the Sheriff stated. As an elected body let's take all available actions, including writing the Governor if needed. So, I want to thank all of you for your comments today, and again let me reiterate, I've heard enough. It's time now to act. Other comments. MR. CARROLL: Mr. Chair, not sure if we need a motion, but I'd be happy to make a motion that this Board send a follow-up letter to the Sheriff's letter, not just to the Secretary of Public Safety, but also to the Governor addressing these issues. MR. HOLLAND: It's been moved. MR. INGLE: Second. MR. HOLLAND: Second. Any more discussion? MR. WINSLOW: Just to say, Mr. Chairman, I do hear you and I think this is a proper, proper response to everything that we have heard, and everything we continue to hear. And so this is a 360 -degree response to what I would call a Shawshank-lite situation of culture problems at Riverside Regional Jail. 21-271 5/12/2021 MS. HALEY: And to add to that, Mr. Chair, I think the letter needs to outline also that we are not going to allow this burden that the State should be bearing to be sitting on the backs of our citizens to the tune of $3.3 million. I think that's the message this Board needs to carry in protection for our citizens. I mean we've done that for how many years? I think that the letter needs to make certain it carries that message as well. MR. HOLLAND: Thank you. I agree fully. And I think it should be noted the cost that we are incurring which is at least -- I won't state it, but it's at least $3.3 million. aye. MS. HALEY: Right. MR. HOLLAND: All those in favor of this motion, say ALL: Aye. MR. HOLLAND: That motion is unanimous, Madam Clerk. I thank you for that. Other comments and discussions. Any other comments from anyone today? All right, Madam Clerk. On motion of Mr. Carroll, seconded by Mr. Ingle, the Board voted to send a letter to the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, Mr. Brian Moran, and Governor Ralph Northam addressing problems at Riverside Regional Jail and the cost to Chesterfield County taxpayers for out -of -compliance inmates. Ayes: Holland, Winslow, Ingle, Carroll and Haley. Nays: None. 4. FIFTEEN -MINUTE CITIZEN COMMENT PERIOD ON UNSCHEDULED MATTERS There were no requests to address the Board at this time. 5. ADJOURNMENT On motion of Ms. Haley, seconded by Mr. Carroll, the Board adjourned at 3:49 p.m. until May 26, 2021, at 2:00 p.m. for a work session to be held in the Public Meeting Room. Ayes: Holland, Winslow, Ingle, Carroll and Haley. Nays: None. 21-272 5/12/2021