Two former Harris Co. Jail employees say inmates are running the show
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Last year, 25 inmates died in the Harris County Jail the most inmate deaths in a decade. Just last month, four more deaths.
Two former Harris County Jail employees, who resigned from their positions, spoke to us anonymously.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Harris County Jail deemed 'House of Death' after death of inmate
One, who we will call ‘Sandy,’ worked at the jail for many years under many different sheriffs.
"That's a good way to put it, under many different sheriffs," Sandy told us.
Another former jail employee worked there for several years. We will call her 'Mary.'
They were not terminated, both chose to leave.
We asked Mary why she chose to resign.
"It was so unsafe. It was very toxic," she said.
Sandy told us resigning was something she felt she had to do.
"It's devastating. I would probably say this is what divorce feels like," Sandy said. "It was not an option, and now I feel bad for the people who are left other employees."
We asked both what would someone see if they walked into the jail unannounced.
"Drugs are rampant," said Mary. "They would see gang initiations. They would see people being rolled out, they call it beaten to a bloody pulp."
"When you come into the jail, there's an expectation that you will be welcomed through violence," Sandy said.
In a highly publicized attack last year, a sergeant was raped and beaten in her office.
"After the sergeant was brutally raped and beaten, we expected something different to happen. It never did,' said Sandy.
Mary says she was stalked by an inmate.
"He waited for me and masturbated in front of me," she said. "This is an inmate in the jail that is supposed to be escorted. He was not escorted, he was unaccounted for. I screamed no one was around, he ran off."
"Everyone in that jail should be escorted, including me," Sandy said. "No one is escorted, not even volunteers are escorted."
"Mind you these things happened before the sergeant was assaulted, so to scream out and say, do something, please do something, because something worse is going to happen than this," said Mary. "And for it to finally happen, that's not, and I told you, so that you want to have."
The jail is dealing with record-breaking deaths.
"You've got some suicides. You've got some homicides. You've got neglect," said Sandy.
RELATED: Harris County Jail death: Inmate dies from 'apparent medical emergency'
The county is spending tens of millions of dollars transferring inmates from Harris County to private facilities in Louisiana and west Texas.
"They look at the ones causing the least amount of problems within the jail," said Mary. "So, the ones with the better behavior are the ones that are shipped out."
RELATED: Officials investigating man found dead in Harris County jail cell
These employees say disabled older inmates and veterans are the most often victimized and beaten.
"If they're really concerned about the deaths that are happening, if they're really concerned about the people that are there, and what they're going through, if they're really concerned about their staff, they're going to have to look at themselves," Sandy said.
"There has to be changes from the top down, there has to be someone that actually cares about the employees and the inmates that are there," said Mary.
RELATED: 'I hope my son did not die in vain:' Outcry for change at Harris County Jail
We reached out to the Harris County Sheriff's Office and they gave us this statement:
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office has a responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of the 10,000-plus people living in the jail, along with that of the thousands of employees who report for duty in the jail in each day. It’s a responsibility that we take seriously, and we mourn every life that is lost in the jail.
The crisis in the Harris County Jail requires significant action on the part of all participants in the Harris County criminal justice system.
The overcrowded conditions inside the Harris County Jail are the result of a major backlog in Harris County’s criminal courts that began with Hurricane Harvey and grew worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the number of people booked into the jail in recent years has declined, our court system is simply not moving fast enough to adjudicate cases in a timely manner. Today, the average Harris County Jail inmate spends over 200 days in jail, which is about six times longer than the national average. At the same time, the proportion of people in the Harris County Jail charged with violent crimes is at its highest point in many years. The number of people in jail on murder or capital murder charges, for instance, is double what it was in 2018.
While the Sheriff’s Office has no authority to expedite trials and relieve the crowding situation, we have taken significant steps to address the crisis in the jail. In March 2022, Harris Health was brought in to oversee all medical services to people in the jail, and Commissioners Court approved a 2023 jail health care budget of $93.9 million, which is a 24% increase from 2021. In June 2021, the Sheriff’s Office implemented Active Bystandership for Law Enforcement (ABLE) and Integrating Communication and Tactics (ICAT) into the training program for all detention officers. So far, 1,164 detention officers have completed the training. Later this month, the Sheriff’s Office will dedicate the Women’s Empowerment Center where women in jail can receive holistic supports that better prepare them for their lives after jail.
We requested an interview with Sheriff Ed Gonzalez and specifically asked about what the two employees told us.
The request for the interview was denied.