Judge issues injunction against El Paso County jail amid COVID-19 lawsuit
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- A federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the El Paso County Sheriff's Office and ordered over a dozen guidelines to be followed inside the El Paso County Jail.
This comes amid a lawsuit against the sheriff's office by the American Civil Liberties Union over conditions inside the complex that led to one of the worst jail COVID-19 outbreaks in the state.
It stems from a period starting in late October when more than 1,000 inmates tested positive for the coronavirus. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in December claiming that Sheriff Bill Elder "acted with deliberate indifference by failing to provide masks" for inmates until late October and early November after two-thirds of the jail population tested positive for COVID-19." The ACLU alleges that the jail had been "failing to ensure inmates had masks, even prohibiting their use."
On Monday, Judge R. Brooke Jackson wrote that the ACLU and the Sheriff's Office are "currently engaged in settlement negotiations regarding this dispute," but then issued a list of 15 orders to be followed inside the jail for 90 days.
The first orders are requiring all staff to wear masks and face discipline for failing to do so; contractors must also wear masks inside the Criminal Justice Center. The sheriff's office is also ordered to issue all inmates two cloth masks and require inmates to wear them; there are also orders for daily checks of symptoms along with continuing the current COVID-19 testing protocols. Read the full order here.
According to statistics from the Colorado Department of Public Health, the El Paso County Criminal Justice Center is still considered an active outbreak. As of December 18, 15 inmates and three staff members had tested positive for coronavirus.
The El Paso County Sheriff's Office has told KRDO it doesn't comment on pending litigation but the Sheriff's Office did send us the following statement on Tuesday,
“It is the policy of the Sheriff’s Office not to comment on pending litigation. However, we can say since the beginning of this pandemic we have taken, and will continue to take, appropriate steps to protect inmates in the El Paso County Jail from COVID-19. The Sheriff’s Office has continuously consulted with El Paso County Public Health, other County leadership, and the Colorado Department of Public Health in evaluating and determining our COVID-19 response. As this pandemic continues to evolve, the Sheriff’s Office will continue to work diligently in collaboration with these partners, as we have since the onset of this pandemic. It’s important to remember the jail populations represents a unique and fluid subpopulation of El Paso County and beyond. Outbreaks such as the one we saw are a reflection of the larger burden of disease in the community.”
