CLEARFIELD – At Tuesday’s Clearfield County Prison Board meeting, the board heard once again from Jan Gaikwad, who had spoken to the board during last month’s meeting.
At that time, Gaikwad had told the board members that she had been taken to the jail on a detainer and while she was having her picture taken, she smiled at one of the male corrections officers and another CO, a female, kicked her in the face.
Gaikwad said she was not adequately cared for after the incident and nothing was done with the CO. Since then, she has been trying to get someone to investigate the incident and bring charges against the CO who kicked her.
The meeting was held at the Clearfield County Jail with Commissioner John Sobel acting as chairman in the absence of President Judge Fredric Ammerman.
Gaikwad said she isn’t doing this for money. Instead, she is concerned for others who might experience a similar incident at the jail. She said she has heard similar stories from other people and feels she is speaking for all of them.
She then asked if the board members have had an opportunity to do their own investigation.
Sobel replied that the personnel committee has met and reviewed the video of the incident. They have also received copies of the relevant documents, including the information she gave Ammerman’s office, and they will be scheduling a second meeting to discuss the matter.
Gaikwad said it has been very frustrating to try to get this matter looked into. She said she has been going around in circles. “It just breeds a climate of cruelty,” she concluded.
The rest of the meeting was short, with the warden’s report indicating that numbers are down again at the jail. November began with 157 with 138 incarcerated and 142 released. They averaged 153 inmates per day and ended November with 174 in all facilities.
Currently there are 147 inmates in Clearfield county, 18 in Jefferson County and two in other facilities bringing the total population to 167.
The board members also thanked Commissioner Mark McCracken for his 16 years of service as a commissioner. Sobel noted that McCracken’s knowledge and experience over the years has been invaluable and that he will be missed.
