Stress at County Jails Takes Toll on Officers’ Health

Struggling to deal with one controversy after another, the administrative staff of the problem-plagued Los Angeles County Jail system has become so overworked that two of the division’s top commanders were forced to take medical leave this week for high blood pressure. Numerous other ranking officials, meanwhile, have been pushed to the point of exhaustion, Sheriff’s Department officials say.

Worried that the custody staff may be at the breaking point, department officials are considering sending in relief troops--possibly starting next week.

“The problems in the jails at times have seemed almost intractable and certainly unrelenting,” said special council Merrick Bobb, retained by the Board of Supervisors to track problems in the Sheriff’s Department. “They have taken their toll not only on the deputies who work there on a daily basis, but also on the inmates who have at times had to endure difficult conditions and on the executives and managers who have been working hard to deal with the issues involved.”

Complicating matters is the fact that Sheriff Sherman Block is facing heated opposition in his reelection campaign this June. With the sheriff’s opponents making the jails’ ongoing problems a central theme in their campaigns, the department’s administrators have increased the pressure on the rank-and-file to fix the system, which has suffered for years from under-funding and poor oversight.

“They are putting tremendous, undue pressure on people [working in the jail] because of the sheriff’s political battle,” said one department source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “If they are grinding down their commanders--who are like rocks--that should be a clear sign that they are pushing people too hard.”

Earlier this week, Cmdr. Daniel Burt and Cmdr. Steve Day--who are considered the backbone of the jails’ administrative staff--went out on medical leave after doctors discovered that they had dangerously high blood pressure. Day is expect to return Monday. Burt could be out for a month.

The departures came in the wake of several recent controversies. Two weeks ago, department sources disclosed that up to 14 deputies are under investigation for allegedly provoking assaults on suspected child molesters, one of whom was killed. A few days later, sheriff’s officials said that a department administrator and an independent food contractor had been arrested on bribery charges involving millions of dollars in padded contracts for jail food.

And finally, last week, officials confirmed that at least four deputies were under investigation for allegedly fraternizing with actor Robert Downey Jr., who is serving time on drug charges.

“The last week or so has been very frustrating to me,” said sheriff’s custody chief Barry King. “We all take [the allegations] personally.”

Many of the problems facing the county jails have been festering for years. Recognizing that he needed a strong staff to clean up the situation, Block sent in some of the department’s rising stars about a year and a half ago to come up with plans to fix the overburdened division.

Although some progress has been made, many of the problems have proved difficult to resolve.

In addition to the latest scandals, jail officials have faced criticism for providing inadequate medical and psychiatric care to inmates and for keeping some prisoners in custody too long because of paperwork problems, costing the public tens of thousands of dollars in settlements.

To stave off a lawsuit from the U.S. Department of Justice--which accused the sheriff of violating the rights of mentally ill inmates by housing them in horrific conditions--jail staff worked around the clock in January to move mentally ill inmates out of their dark, dingy cells at Men’s Central Jail and into Twin Towers.

Usually upbeat, King said he was exhausted Friday. “We sit in our staff meetings and as I look around the room, there is tremendous dedication to try to fix the problems that keep popping up,” he said. “We are putting in a lot of hours. It takes a toll.”

King said department officials are looking into the possibility of reassigning ranking staff from other areas and placing them in the jails to help address the troubles.

“We have discussed a variety of options, including bringing in some interim commanders,” King said.