OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Oklahoma County Jail has failed another health inspection, now totaling eight straight inspections the jail has failed dating back to 2019.
During the latest inspection, the jail staff wouldn't even let inspectors through the doors and told them it is unsafe, due to not having enough staff to accommodate them around the jail, which has many in the community worried.
"They said, we don't have enough people, that's what it said there on the official report," Christopher Johnston, Member of People's Council for Justice Reform said. "That is terrifying."
It has been five years since the Oklahoma County Jail has passed a state health inspection.
The listed issues range from bed bugs, unsanitary areas, staffing issues, and mold amongst many other things.
"Hygiene; a building doesn't clean itself," Johnston said. "It doesn't grab a bar of soap and start scrubbing itself. A building doesn't not conduct site checks. A building doesn't keep people from coming into it. That is management, that is the staff running it."
Johnston says the district attorney and attorney general need to step in.
"He's got to step in," Johnston said. "He knows what's going on. It's happening near his office. So, the attorney general needs to to really evaluate."
The Oklahoma State Department of Health agrees, telling us in a statement that when a jail fails an inspection:
We are actively communicating with the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s office.
For enforcement following an inspection or follow-up inspection of a facility determined to be not in compliance with the applicable statutory and regulatory standards, OSDH will evaluate and assess appropriate next steps based on all available tools and statutory authority. Such next steps may include a complaint filed with the Attorney General, a complaint filed with the local District Attorney, the assessment of administrative penalties, or any combination thereof.
Oklahoma State Department of Health
We reached out to both offices; the AG's office said because it is not a state facility, they are not involved unless brought in by the State Department of Health.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma County District Attorney Vicki Zemp Behenna sent News 4 this letter, written by Assistant District Attorney Aaron Etherington.
In the letter, Etherington tells the Department of Health it "exceeded its lawful authority" in attempting to inspect the jail this week, and called the notice of non-compliance "void."
News 4 asked how the DA's office came to that conclusion, but never heard back.
Johnston says if action isn't taken soon, things will only get worse.
"It's a ticking time bomb," Johnston said. "There is a high probability that something horrible will happen."
Of course, all of this comes as Oklahoma County tries to build a new jail.
Those efforts are still up in the air after the City of Oklahoma City voted no on the proposed jail location.
The Board of County Commissioners for Oklahoma County has since filed a lawsuit against the City of Oklahoma city over sovereignty of the land.
