Department of Justice finds "life-threatening" medical problems at King County Jail

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a sweeping condemnation of the operation of the downtown King County Jail, saying inmates' civil rights are being routinely violated through physical and sexual abuse by staff and inadequate medical care.

King County officials released a 27-page letter from the Department of Justice's Civil rights Division which says that the department has notified county officials of "life-threatening deficiencies in medical care" for some inmates at the jail and alleges that inmates were routinely pepper-sprayed by staff and subjected to "degrading" physical abuse, including hair pulling to force inmates to comply with guards' orders.

The DOJ says the county has failed to adequately train its staff and has inadequate policies and procedures in place to protect inmates.

The Department of Adult and Juvenile Corrections' internal investigations unit is also inadequate and routinely fails to follow up on reports of inmates complaints, the DOJ alleges.

Jail Director Reed Holtgeerts said the jail is addressing many of the issues but that the county disagrees that inmates rights are being violated.

"We strive at all times to provide safe, secure and humane conditions for the over 50,000 inmates for whom we are responsible each year," according to a written statement released today by the county. "We disagree that the constitutional rights are being violated, but we are in complete agreement with DOJ that there is room for improvement in the areas they evaluated."

Holtgeerts said the county has and will cooperate completely with the DOJ.

The DOJ says a lawsuit could be filed if the county fails to address the issues.

The DOJ's Office of Civil Rights opened an investigation into the King County Jail in November. Much of the investigation focused on jail health issues, including the spread of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, a highly contagious bacteria that can lead to severe infections and even death. At least one jail inmate has died from a MRSA infection and hundreds of others are diagnosed every year.

Other issues the DOJ said it would look at included jail suicides and sexual abuse of inmates.

Jail Health Services has struggled to provide care to inmates, and staffing issues among nurses and pharmacists have plagued efforts to improve the system. The county's ombudsman, Amy Calderwood, this spring issued a scathing report detailing "systemic problems and deficiencies" in the jail health system.

A Seattle Times investigation published in April revealed hundreds of medical errors, including more than 600 in 2005 alone and at least three instances in which inmates have died as a result of medical mistakes. Narcotics and other drugs have routinely disappeared from jail pharmacies and staff have been criticized for not following protocols in handing out meds.

Responding to the ombudsman's report, the county's auditor, in a report issued in October, found inmates no more likely to be harmed by medication errors than patients in hospitals. Still, it found "opportunities for improvement."

The county's archaic system for inmates to report illnesses — a system where inmates have been required to submit written "kites" to the clinic and then wait to be seen — has been criticized for being inefficient and discriminatory against inmates with limited verbal or writing skills.

Jail nurses have complained of crushing workloads and turnover at both the downtown jail and at the Regional Justice Center in Kent.

Jail pharmacies failed three of eight state inspections since 2000.

The county has responded by installing a new computerized patient tracking system, implementing new protocols for tracking drugs and hiring temporary nurses to fill positions. Infectious disease treatment and containment has been a jail health priority.

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com