Cuyahoga Council Leaders Support Hiring More Jail Staff

Cuyahoga County Council leaders say they’ll support efforts to improve conditions in the troubled county jail, including hiring more guards and expanding MetroHealth’s role in providing medical services.

Council members Dan Brady and Pernel Jones, the president and vice president of council, outlined the efforts in a letter to the county prosecutor last week. Prosecutor Michael O’Malley is defending the county in a lawsuit filed in federal court on behalf of jail inmates.  

The council leaders said the body would support the administration in signing a new contract with MetroHealth. The hospital system would take over all medical services at the jail.

Brady and Jones wrote that council would back the sheriff in hiring more corrections officers and other staff. The hiring is meant to end the lockdowns at the jail known as “Red Zone.”

They also pledged to support a group of judges and other officials in reevaluating the local bail system in the county.

Several jail nurses and a union representative attended last week’s council meeting to express concerns about their jobs under a new contract with Metro.

Demonstrators have been pushing the county to improve healthcare and other services at the jail. They protested outside of the council meeting last week and called on council members to act.

Read the letter below. Mobile users can view here.