ST. LOUIS — For the first time since its inception, St. Louis Detention Facility Oversight Board members met with detainees at the City Justice Center.
This was just the second time committee members have been allowed inside the jail.
It’s a day that Rev. Darryl Gray says he and Detention Facility Oversight Committee members have been working towards for over two years.
“Our board finally got an opportunity to meet face to face with the detainees,” Rev. Darryl Gray said.
However, moments after their tour ended Gray admitted it didn’t go exactly as planned when they requested meetings with leaders from the St. Louis City Justice Center’s five wings.
“Today, we were able to meet only with one,” Gray said. “We didn’t get an explanation as to why only one, but our request was for five.”
The detainee shared concerns about food, medical access, and the cleanliness of each unit inside the jail though committee members say the complaint system needs to be fixed first.
“We came to realize that we’ve got to do a better job in explaining to lawyers how their clients can make complaints,” Gray said.
“The people who the program is supposed to benefit don’t know about it,” DFOB member Pam Walker.
Of larger concern to members of the DFOC was the presence of two city attorneys at the meeting.
“What is occurring within this jail that makes it necessary to have two city lawyers in a meeting to talk to one inmate,” Gray said.
“We didn’t ask for an attorney to be there,” Walker said. “I doubt very seriously they were there to represent us.”
“This administration seems to be trying to hide more than it’s trying to expose as far as transparency,” Gray said.
That’s why Alderman Rasheen Aldridge says he’s pushing for legislation giving the DFOC committee more power to enter the City Justice Center.
“We want transparency, and we want to work with the commissioner, but sometimes we have to put things ordinance to make it clear,” Alderman Rasheen Aldridge said. “The only way we’re going to get transparency and oversight is through legislation.”
“If you asked me do you think the city wants oversight, no,” Gray said. “No. Just a simple no.”
A spokesperson for St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones' office sent 5 on Your Side the following statement: “Today, a meeting occurred between members of the Detention Facilities Oversight Board (DFOB) and a wing representative in the City Justice Center. Whenever a detainee meets with members of the DFOB, that detainee’s legal counsel needs to be present. Only one wing representative had legal counsel available to attend the meeting. When legal counsel is present for detainees it is customary for City attorneys to also be present. Mayor Jones not only established the Detention Facilities Oversight Board, but also went to court to ensure its continued existence. The Jones administration remains committed to transparency with regards to the oversight of the CJC, and any statements to the contrary are completely unfounded. Now that the members of the DFOB have gone through training required in the ordinance that established the board, and the injunction against the DFOB has been lifted, the city is happy to continue to facilitate meetings between the board and detainees in the CJC.”