WATCH Major flooding inside Pueblo County Jailhouse
Video from the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page gives further insight into the crumbling infrastructure inside of the County’s Jailhouse.
The short video shows considerable flooding in the basement of the jail. Two feet of water poured through the elevator shaft of the jail during a storm earlier this month.
Inmate capacity has been a consistent issue at the jailhouse. The jail’s capacity is 509 inmates. There were two separate instances in 2018 where there were more than 800 inmates at a time.
Pueblo County Commissioners are working to gain more funding for a new jail and treatment center. Voters will likely consider the new jailhouse in the upcoming November elections.
Commissioners have previously asked voters in Pueblo County for funds towards a new jail in 2015 and 2017. Both of those requests were voted down.
“The jail is really the cornerstone of the criminal justice system,” said Pueblo County Commissioner Garrison Ortiz. “The lack of space has resulted in our inability to house municipal offenders. It has resulted in a lot of risky housing situations. It is just something that has to be addressed if we truly care and want modern public safety here in Pueblo County.”
Commissioner are considering two ballot measures. The first would raise the sales tax by half a cent, and the second would restructure the way Pueblo County taxes recreational cannabis.
Deputies that work in the jailhouse say that the poor infrastructure has gotten so bad that the facility is compromised, and has been for some time.
