Woman submits formal complaint to CO Attorney General about violations of civil rights & statutes in the Mesa County Detention Center

New mom Jessie McNeely found herself in the Mesa County Detention Center earlier this year, and while there experienced what she alleges were violations of her and other detainees’ civil rights, as well as violations of Colorado statutes. McNeely reports experiencing deplorably unhygienic conditions at the jail. She says she saw jail employees ignore detainees’ physical needs for hours, and that she was subjected to retaliation after she asked jail staff for the appropriate form to file a grievance, even though requesting the form is the first step inmates are supposed to take to alert staff to problems in the jail. McNeely added that the jail “does not provide hand soap, toothbrush, nor a comb and they do not offer a shower until you are in permanent housing,” and “One of the girls said she was in booking for 5 days without any of these items.” McNeely also reports failures by police to enforce existing protection orders and take reports, saying she has “proof of deliberate indifference.”

Instead of supplying the grievance form McNeely asked for, jail personnel moved her to a more restrictive cell without a toilet, which McNeely understood was retribution for asking to file a grievance. Her jail records says she was moved to a different cell for “causing a disruption” and “banging on door.” After she was released, McNeely tried to figure out the appropriate place to report the problems she had witnessed in the jail.  First she contacted the mayor of Grand Junction, who said he had no control over what happens at the jail. She finally contacted the Colorado Attorney General’s Office, which called her back fairly quickly. McNeely said they “reached out to me on the urgency to file” a complaint and forwarded her the correct link to file electronically.

McNeely was right in that in Colorado the first step in filing a grievance about a county jail is asking a deputy or jail staff for a grievance form. Inmates are required to file grievances within 24 hours of the incident of concern, and are supposed to exhaust all administrative options for dealing with grievances prior to filing a formal complaint or a lawsuit. The grievance procedure is essentially an informal complaint procedure intended to give the jail a way to rectify problems before an inmate takes the next step of escalating their case by filing a formal complaint or lawsuit against the jail.

McNeely says she has all pertinent information regarding her experiences, including descriptions of the incidents, dates, times and the names of other witnesses who saw and experienced what she saw and experienced while in the jail. She says she has been in the Mesa County Detention Center three times and witnessed the same problems there each time.

Below is the text of McNeely’s formal complaint (pdf) to the Colorado AG, lightly edited to correct errors that are likely due to text-to-speech transcription.

“I, Jessie McNeely, was an incarcerated inmate at Mesa County jail. Upon arrival at the jail, I told them I have a 13-week-old baby who is exclusively breastfeeding and is solely reliant on my breast milk. I gave them a phone number they could call for me to acquire my breast pump and asked them to please call, since my newborn is not likely to accept formula since he has never drank it, so it’s very important to get the infant my milk urgently. The booking deputies don’t book you completely in until several hours later with a phone call being last priority. I was also told by medical staff that I did not require the special diet because that’s “only for pregnant women.” After I completed the beginning of my intake, I was moved to general booking housing cell.

I waited 2 1/2 hours into my incarceration before asking booking deputies if they were able to make the phone call to have my breast pump delivered to the jail. They said “No, we can’t do that.” I asked if they

could please ask the nurse to call. The nurse, about 10 to 15 minutes later, took me out of the cell and she started walking me near the intake bathroom. She tried handing me a washcloth and said, “Here, if it’s bad enough you can go self-express your milk in the intake bathroom.” I replied, “No, thank you. My baby needs the milk.” She then turned around and started to take me back to the booking cell. I asked, “May I have my inmate rights and policies?” Her and the deputy told me, “No but you can go back in there.” Upon entering the booking cell, I asked “Can I have a grievance?” They ignored and stared. I started knocking on the glass at an appropriate noise level asking for a grievance. [Within] about 3 minutes of me requesting a grievance, two deputies asked me to step out [of my cell], grabbed me by my wrist and took me to restrictive housing with no toilet. I started to cry, and asked them “Why are you doing this?” While I was in restrictive housing, a booking deputy did his routine round and I asked “Can I use the bathroom?” He pointed to the hole in the ground and said “Right there.” I said “You’re lying.” He replied with confidence, “I’m not!” At this point, I was very traumatized. My boyfriend called down to the jail himself asking why I hadn’t been booked in, [saying] my infant needed breast milk [and asking] for him to please bring the breast pump. The control people on the intercom tried to calm my hyperventilating down and said, ‘Carlos just called. He’s bringing your breast pump.’ I was eventually moved back to the regular booking cell. Can’t type, out of words.”

“When I was jailed in June I witnessed the jail and multiple deputies commit neglect on an at-risk adult there, [who] was most likely identified as African/American around the age of 65 or older, who had inconsistency [incontinence] habits. She had diarrhea that leaked out of her Depend. We asked them for 5 hours or more for them to please get her a new diaper and clothing because she had a soiled diaper and clothing. The cell had a awful smell of fecal matter. It wasn’t until one of the women vomited did they get her a diaper and new clothing. They exposed me to many communicable diseases and put me and others at high risk for Escherichia coli (E. coli), Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Cholera, and Typhoid fever. Viruses like Hepatitis A, Hepatitis E, Rotavirus, Adenovirus, and Norovirus. They did not care or take concern. They make people poop in a hole in the ground on a daily basis in restrictive housing. I have names dates and times of these events, including the name of the witness who vomited after being exposed to fecal matter for 5 hours. They do not provide hand soap, tooth brush, nor a comb and do not offer a shower until you are in permanent housing. One of the girls said she was in booking for 5 days without any of these items.”

“I am in a severe domestic violence situation and currently at a safe house, and Grand Junction Police Department and Mesa County Sheriffs are failing to investigate, even though I’ve showed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he’s harassing me. They are refusing to honor my protection order when I have definitive proof to him admitting to breaking it and violating the protection order.”

“I witnessed the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department, and other women that I know the names of, that both witnessed Mesa County Sheriff Detention facility leaving an at-risk 65-year-old in a defecated diaper and clothing for 5 hours until one of us puked. They finally got her a change of clothes and a new diaper…. I have clear documentation of all these events and multiple witnesses. … They are violating multiple constitutional rights, like equal protection under the law and cruel and unusual punishment. They are committing police misconduct by failing to take reports and investigate reports. I also had a similar situation a year ago with the police failing to honor my protection order and failing to take my report. They denied me equal protection of the law in a temporary restraining order case that was due to [the] father of children retaliating against child support, which is a criminal act, and I have and had a mandatory protection order in the domestic violence act. I also have proof of deliberate indifference. I will not stop until I make whoever I need to be make aware of my complaints on my constitutional rights are being honored and protected.”

This could be an opportunity for the jail to take notice of the reported problems and address them to avoid further escalation, unless  the Colorado Attorney General is the next one to do the escalating.

If you have information regarding similar problems and experiences with law enforcement locally or conditions in the Mesa County Detention Center, please post the info in the comments.