CLEARFIELD – Conditions at the Clearfield County Jail were a topic of concern during Tuesday’s Prison Board meeting.
Harold Walstrom, whose daughter died after an overdose at the facility in July, addressed the board during the public comment portion of the meeting, saying that he continually attends the meetings hoping to hear “something positive” and although he has seen “steps in the right direction,” he is still frustrated. He asked the board to re-open an investigation into her death, which he feels was due to staff neglect.
“I want someone to do a legitimate investigation,” he said because he doesn’t want the people who “failed to do what should have been done” to save her life to still be working there.
“A jail sentence shouldn’t be a death sentence.”
The Walstrom family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the county, warden and several correction workers, which would keep the board from commenting on the situation. Also, it is a policy of the board to hear public concerns, but not to respond.
The other public comment came from a woman who said while she was incarcerated, she suffered abuse, and her rights were violated due to “extreme negligence.”
She was in jail for a probation violation when another inmate she knew from high school gathered some other inmates to harass and insult her, she explained.
On the second day of this abuse, she said she screamed and fought back. This led to a lock down. She explained that when she tried to talk to one of the corrections officers to address the situation, she was punished for not going back to her cell and was put in solitary confinement.
Again, as is the common practice, no response was made to her complaints.
The board and the jail have been under scrutiny since last summer when three female inmates overdosed within a few days including Walstrom’s daughter who died.
In December Warden David Gallagher was fired after just over two years in the position. In October, Eric Bush, a former deputy warden, resigned after being at the facility for only about a year.
Since that time, a body scanner was purchased to screen incoming inmates and work release participants when returning to the jail to stop contraband from being brought into the jail.
During Tuesday’s meeting, Clearfield County Commissioner John Sobel asked the new warden, David Rupprecht Jr. of Brockway who was hired in February, how the scanner was working.
Rupprecht responded that now 14 staff members are trained to use the equipment and it is working as it should.
In his report, Rupprecht provided details on an altercation between two inmates who got into a fight and received minimal injuries. Staff needed to deploy pepper balls to break up the altercation.
Both inmates were subject to in-house disciplinary measures but neither wanted to press criminal charges against the other.
In other business, the board learned:
- The replacement lock project is not yet completed due to the wait time for the arrival of new control panels. At the request of Clearfield County Commissioner Dave Glass, the board agreed not to make the final payment to the company until after the panels are received and the project is complete.
- There are currently 32 full-time COs and three part-time officers. Interviews for additional personnel are continuing. Rupprecht also noted that one of the officers is currently completing a locksmith program so future problems can be handled internally without having to hire an outside contractor.
- The facility started March with 134 inmates and ended with 150. Six inmates are in the work release program.
- The jail is only slightly over budget for the year due to nursing fees but is still in a good position, according to Controller Robert Edwards.
