MILWAUKEE — The Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department is investigating after an inmate on the FBI’s ’10 Most Wanted’ list was found dead in his cell Sunday at the Milwaukee County Jail. This marks the second inmate death at the jail in just over a month.
Data obtained from the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office shows the jail is over capacity with inmates. Meanwhile, it’s about a hundred employees short of being fully staffed. A community advocate believes that’s a recipe for more jail deaths.
Three inmates have died at the Milwaukee County Jail within the past seven months. It’s a troubling figure for Sylvester Jackson who has experienced being an inmate there himself and now advocates for those who are re-entering society.
"When you have overcrowding like you do in the county, somebody's bound to be overlooked because you don't have enough staff to keep eyes on everybody,” Jackson said. “When you're taken into custody, you're in the care of the one who is holding you so they're responsible for your well-being."
State law requires correctional staff to do inmate cell checks once per hour and every 15 minutes for those who are on suicide watch.
The sheriff’s office says there are currently 987 inmates at the Milwaukee County jail. That’s 27 more than the jail’s capacity, a spokesperson with the sheriff’s office said.
The sheriff’s office tells TMJ4 it doesn’t have the legal authority to force other facilities to take inmates when the county jail doesn’t have room.
"Crime is high in the city, we know that and the county's overcrowded,” Jackson said. “We've been hearing a lot of sad, tragic things like they're going weeks without toilet paper."
While the sheriff’s office wouldn’t comment on the latest inmate deaths since investigations are underway, a spokesperson says “It is important to both employees and occupants of the Milwaukee County Jail that we fully staff our correction officer ranks as soon as possible.”
The sheriff’s office says just 162 of its 258 positions are filled.
Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley says he’s always concerned anytime there is a death a the jail or elsewhere in the county.
"At the end of the day, we have to see what the investigation says I think this also speaks to just the issue of resources,” he said.
Crowley says newly sworn-in Sheriff Denita Ball has committed to making sure filling jail staff vacancies is a top priority.
"We're going to have to continue to work with the sheriff's office to figure out what strategies that we can identify to get more people into the pipeline to become sheriff deputies or to become correctional officers,” Crowley said.
The sheriff’s office says more than 75 officer applicants are in the process of being vetted and background checked. The office is also planning additional in-person hiring events for spring and summer to bring aboard new members.
