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Pointed Questions About City Justice Center Garner Few Answers | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

February 2, 2024

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click to enlarge SCREENSHOT VIA YOUTUBE Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah addresses the St. Louis Board of Aldermen on Thursday, February 1.

Inez Bordeaux knows firsthand the horrors of St. Louis’ City Justice Center because she was detained there 12 years ago.

During this period, she and 20 other women were left in acell that was 10 feet wide by 8 feet high for days, she said during a Public Safety Committee meeting on Thursday.

They had no toilet, were denied access to showers, and on a few occasions, staff forgot to feed them. One of the women in the cell with Bordeaux was detoxing and left to sit in her own feces and vomit for three days, Bordeaux said.

Since Bordeaux’s detainment, not much has changed in the detention center, she said — even as it’s become the city’s sole jail following the 2021 closure of the Medium Security Institution, better known as the Workhouse.

“This kind of thing continues to happen in CJC and that is unconscionable,” Bordeaux said.

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen put concerns about the City Justice Center on the agenda of its Public Safety Committee after outrage over conditions at the jai bubbled over at a January town hall meeting. Seeking to quell interruptions to that meeting, the city promised a committee hearing on jail issues featuring public comment.

The jail has been embroiled in controversy following a slew of deaths, testimony about the lack of medical treatment accessible to detainees and what has been described as a riot where a guard was taken hostage.

The agenda item to discuss the issues appears to have been added on relatively short notice, activists say, on a weekday and with little fanfare. Even so, a slew of activists, including Bordeaux, brought dozens of concerns and questions, only to be met with few answers from city officials.

In preparation for the meeting, Mike Milton, founder of the Freedom Community Center, spoke with individuals who were recently released from CJC as early as last week.

“They confirmed what we already knew, that CJC is still a present-day torture device,” Milton told the committee. “They confirmed that many were denied regular showers, water, nutritious food, medical treatment and life-saving medication, and more.”

Specifically, one person said in early January they had to save their cellmate from dying.

“He was having a seizure, he beat on the door for 30 minutes while his cellmate lay unconscious, convulsing,” Milton said. “They thought he had died.”

Other issues highlighted by activists and those who were previously held in City Justice Center included the use of chemical irritants on detainees, the denial of showers after mace was deployed and 23-hour lock-ups.

However, the focus of the discussion remained on a lack of medical care and recent deaths in the facility.

Midway through the public comment portion of the meeting, Dr. Matifadza Hlatshwayo Davis was called to provide an update on her oversight of the facility.

The city’s health director, Davis was asked by Mayor Tishaura Jones to provide oversight to the CJC’s medical system.

Davis engaged directly with members of the community during her report and took questions as she went through the material, facing the community as often as the aldermen.

So far during Davis’ tenure overseeing the jail she has prioritized an emergency contract for a different provider of medical services that began December 1 and she is in the final stages of hiring a new chief medical officer for the facility who has a psychiatry background.

Davis said she inherited a slate of problems and a miniscule budget and doesn’t have all the answers the community needs yet.

Committee members asked Davis to describe the jail’s backlog of requested medical care.

“What is so frustrating about the backlog is, in order for me to even figure out what the backlog is, I have to find records from a provider that’s not even here,” Davis said. “I’m not even going to lie to you and say that I trust the number of backlogs that you’ve seen in other hearings.”

The number of medical cases stuck in the backlog is unclear and won’t be until the data can be cleaned and confirmed, Davis said. “We are well aware of the backlog, and I’m devastated. I’m devastated.”

Davis was also asked whether detainees are experiencing any faster access to care. She did not give specifics on how long they’re waiting, but said:

“I won’t sugarcoat it, the timing is terrible and the timing has been terrible for a long time.”

Nearly three hours into the public meeting, Committee Chair Bret Narayan welcomed Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah to the podium to respond. She seemed confused.

“Um, I thought you guys would have questions for me,” Clemons-Abdullah told the committee.

“I was hoping that you’d be able to address some of the concerns that were raised by the members of the community,” Narayan said. “Then I know there are questions for you, certainly.”

Under questioning from Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, Clemons-Abdullah admitted she hadn’t changed any policies or procedures in the facility during her time as commissioner. She also acknowledged that the City Justice Center is down 100 staffers at this time.

Clemons-Abdullah did address some of the community’s concerns, including questions about allegations in a class action lawsuit against the city that jail staffersuse chemical agents in a punitive manner. She said mace and the use of chemical irritants against detainees was necessary but that the staff would be learning “how to communicate in an effective manner” so as not to resort to deploying mace so frequently.

“I don’t think we use it as much as we used to, but it is necessary in the environment,” Clemons-Abdullah said.

Many of the concerns expressed at the meeting centered around medical neglect in the jail and were spurred by the 11 deaths that have taken place in the 27 months Clemons-Abdullah has held her position.

“I can’t tell you why people have passed away but what I can tell you is that it is abnormal to die in jail and prisons but we do everything we can,” Clemons-Abdullah said— including allowing detainees to see medical providers. It was unclear how quickly detainees are actually able to access this care.

Activists at the meeting reiterated calls for Clemons-Abdullah to be fired.

“People will continue to die if the city doesn’t fire Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah,” said Lee Harkins.

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

1 year ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

1 year ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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