King County reaches deal with feds on improving jail

King County corrections officers, trained to restrain inmates by grabbing their hair, must learn more humane techniques under a tentative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

And inmates, who recently received new mattresses as a disease-control measure, will get clean underwear every day — up from the already improved three pairs a week — if the Metropolitan King County Council approves the agreement.

County Executive Ron Sims sent the proposed agreement to the council Monday after months of negotiations with federal officials, who alleged in November 2007 that prisoners' civil rights were violated by routine use of excessive force, "life-threatening" deficiencies in medical care and inadequate procedures to prevent suicides.

In a letter to the County Council, Sims reiterated his position that inmates' rights were not violated, "but we are in agreement ... that there is room for improvement."

The tentative accord focuses on the county's older jail in downtown Seattle, but some improvements also will affect the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

The three-year deal would cost the county $2 million this year and $1.7 million in each following year, with much of the money buying and washing inmates' uniforms, underwear, sheets and towels. The cost was figured into the 2009 budget, officials said.

The County Council will review the agreement Monday.

Councilmember Bob Ferguson, D-Seattle, said he expects the council will vote the same day to authorize Sims to sign the deal, which would give a federal court authority to enforce it if the county doesn't make adequate progress in improving jail conditions.

"The allegations were very troubling, of course, but I believe we've worked out a fair resolution that addresses the Department of Justice's serious allegations," Ferguson said.

Councilmember Kathy Lambert, R-Redmond, said she thought the Justice Department's original letter alleging civil-rights violations exaggerated problems in the jail, but she said of the agreement, "I think we came to some good compromises."

The 2007 Justice Department letter concluded that inmates had been physically and sexually abused by guards, and that those instances were often poorly investigated, if at all. Inmates who were ill were denied medications, misdiagnosed and sometimes left to suffer untreated, the report said.

The agreement requires the county to train corrections officers over the next two years in up-to-date methods for restraining inmates. Most officers have been trained to use a "hair-holding" restraint the Justice Department described as "a highly painful and degrading technique that carries a high risk of injury."

"The county had begun to look at all policies and procedures even before the Department of Justice came in," said Kathy Van Olst, director designee of adult and juvenile detention. "What the Department of Justice did when they came in, and then looked at particular cases, was really highlight to us certain areas where we needed to be more clear in what our expectations were of when force is used and when it is not appropriate to be used."

The agreement calls for these changes, some of which are under way:

• Corrections officers who conduct internal investigations would receive more training. The county already has created a Use of Force Board.

• Medical staff and corrections officers have begun sharing information at the end of each shift on the condition of inmates with psychiatric disorders.

• An electronic medical-records system is being introduced.

• New cleaning procedures are intended to slow the spread of disease.

• Jail staff will get more training in recognizing suicide risks, and daily assessments will be made of inmates on suicide watches.

After the agreement is signed, the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division will file a suit against the county in federal court — with a process for dismissing the suit if the county makes adequate progress in improving the jail. Three monitors, appointed by both parties, will follow the county's progress.

The deal focuses on the county's older jail in downtown Seattle, but some improvements also will affect inmates at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

The agreement was reached three weeks after an inquest jury found that inmate Lynn Dale Iszley died of a massive infection in 2007 in part because Jail Health Services failed to diagnose the perforated ulcer that caused the infection.

A doctor who treated him testified he thought Iszley was suffering from dehydration and severe drug and alcohol withdrawal.

County officials were reluctant to say whether they agreed with the jury that inadequate medical care caused Iszley's death.

"That death was tragic, and while no system is really ever without errors, we continually review every death that occurs with somebody under our care and work to make improvements," said Dorothy Teeter, chief of health operations for Public Health — Seattle & King County, which provides medical care in county jails.

"I respect the jury's finding," Van Olst said, adding that she couldn't comment on the six jurors' specific conclusions because she didn't know the wording of the questions they answered.

Keith Ervin: 206-464-2105 or kervin@seattletimes.com