A class-action lawsuit has been filed against the new Wayne County Jail and several of its officials, alleging a disturbing pattern of unlawful detentions where hundreds of inmates are held beyond the time they are legally required to be released.
Attorneys at Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers and the Law Offices of Dean Elliott PLC filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court, accusing jail officials of serious violations of detainees’ rights and shedding light on broader systemic issues within the facility that opened on Sept. 3.
One of the plaintiffs is 22-year-old Liam West-Campau, who was forced to stay in jail for six days beyond when a judge allowed him to post bond. West-Campau was arrested for a parole violation on Oct. 5. A Wayne County Circuit Court judge ordered his release on Oct. 8, setting a $2,000 personal bond and imposing a tether requirement. West-Campau remained in custody for an additional six days. His mother had trouble finding him because the computer system was offline, and “there was no record or evidence of his whereabouts inside the jail,” the suit alleges.
West-Campau also claimed he was not allowed to make phone calls.
West-Campau’s case is not unique. Hundreds of inmates have been held for several days after a court ordered them to be released. The lawsuit alleges over-detention and excessive custody in violation of the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.
The lawsuit was filed against Wayne County Sheriff Raphael Washington, Chief of Jails Robert Dunlap, and five unnamed jail employees.
The lawsuit highlights numerous instances of inmates being unlawfully detained, but it also underscores a broader pattern of troubling conditions at the jail, located at 5301 Russell St., Detroit.
Wayne County officials have promoted the new facility as a solution to the deplorable, outdated, and unsafe conditions of the old jails, promising improved safety for inmates.
But within just the past month, the facility has been plagued by reports of fighting, flooding, restricted attorney access, and inmates being forced to defecate in plastic bags. Most alarmingly, two inmates recently died by suicide, raising questions about the safety and oversight within the jail.
“The facility has been plagued by operational and administrative chaos resulting in multiple inmate deaths, protests, staffing shortages, dayslong lockdowns, crowded cells deputies quitting in frustration, offline computer systems, fights, and flooding,” the lawsuit states.
Without working computer systems, there is “no reliable way to locate, track, or identify inmates who are admitted into the facility.”
Inmates have endured dayslong lockdowns in overcrowded cells due to a shortage of deputies to staff the larger facility. These lockdowns have sparked incidents of fighting, as well as inmates damaging fire sprinklers and flooding cells in protest, according to Allen Cox, president of the Wayne County Deputy Sheriff’s Association.
Cox said the stress has become so overwhelming that some deputies have resigned since the transition to the new jail, with several others considering leaving.
About 2,500 adult and juvenile inmates are held in the new jail.
Wayne County officials, including the sheriff, declined to comment, saying they have not yet been served the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday.
