Multnomah County addresses 'unprecedented' spike in inmate deaths in 2023
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Corrections Health briefed the Board of Commissioners on recent steps taken to prevent in-jail deaths on April 23, after seven inmates died in Multnomah County jails between May and October of 2023.
Accidental fentanyl overdoses and suicides accounted for five of the seven deaths, Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell told the board. One inmate died of natural causes and the death of 51-year-old Tera Harris remains under investigation.
“We serve a population of vulnerable and high-risk individuals with complex needs related to mental health, substance use and chronic medical conditions,” O’Donnell said.
County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson called the 2023 spike in jail deaths an “extremely troubling situation.”
“We have a responsibility to provide safety and care in our corrections facilities, and this is a responsibility I know all of us take very seriously,” Pederson said.
The county ordered an independent audit and performed internal evaluations to address the spike in inmate deaths in 2023. This included recommendations provided to the county by the National Institute of Corrections.
Chief Deputy Stephen Reardon told county commissioners Tuesday that the MCSO has already made changes in response to the rise in inmate deaths in 2023. Some of the changes include additional staff training for employees handling inmates with mental health issues, changes in jail search procedures and improving access to Narcan in the Multnomah County Detention Center and Inverness Jail.
“We have successfully completed a pilot with both public defenders' offices to limit suspected contraband coming into the facility disguised as legal mail,” Reardon said.
The county is also working to improve visibility in its jails by removing blinds from its dayroom window, adding doors that provide better visibility into suicide watch rooms, and improving jail cell lighting.
O’Donnell told commissioners that — like many local agencies — the MCSO is still working on methods to better address the ongoing fentanyl crisis.
“Although the National Institute of Corrections report included a handful of statements and ideas regarding contraband and searches, the flood of fentanyl in our community has changed the landscape in an urgent and deadly way,” O’Donnell said. “This includes our jail settings.”
Corrections Health Director Myque Obiero also briefed the council Tuesday, informing commissioners of recent changes made within the department to combat the rise in inmate deaths.
“One life lost is too many,” Obiero said. “Seven is unprecedented. [2023] was an exceptionally difficult year.”
Obiero said that the department has improved behavioral health needs for Multnomah County inmates within the past year. These improvements include more full-time behavioral health clinicians assigned to areas where inmates with significant behavioral health challenges are housed and the hiring of three new behavioral health staff members in April 2024.
Corrections Health also provides suicide prevention training for its employees and is in the process of designing suicide prevention posters for inmates.