Corrections department disputes claims of inadequate inmate care during month-long lockdown

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Corrections is disputing the claims that inmates at the state prisons were not getting adequate care during a month-long lockdown.

The lockdown was initiated at both state prison locations — Salt Lake City and Gunnison — after a correctional officer was violently attacked and seriously injured at the Central Utah Correctional Facility on Sept. 24. Mike Schoenfeld, corrections department deputy commissioner, said an investigation was launched as they believed it could have led to more attacks at the prison.

"(Based on) the information we were gathering, things we were reading (and) things we were listening to, there was going to be continued attacks from a couple of different groups," Schoenfeld said.

The prisons started lifting the lockdown for certain tiers, including in women's housing, five days later. Tier 1, which requires maximum security, and Tier 2 sections of the prison remained locked down until Oct. 29.

Claims of inadequate care

During lockdown, an inmate advocacy group called Utah Corrections Watch said it heard from inmates and their loved ones about unhygienic and stressful conditions that were creating mental health concerns among the inmates.

Utah Corrections Watch founder Nadine Salyer said she heard complaints from inmates who were cooped up in a cell of eight men for several days.

"They're reporting things like not getting out of their cells for four or five days at a time, not being able to take showers for that long either. Some of the sections were running out of toilet paper and were going to have to resort to tearing bedsheets to stay clean," Salyer said.

Schoenfeld said, as far as he knows, those claims are not true. He said the facility has an ample supply of toilet paper and everyone is given toilet paper.

"We don't have any of those complaints from anybody yet, and we've been asking inmates specifically if they have (any) of those types of complaints or if anything like that occurred," Schoenfeld said. "And right now, we have zero reports of that stuff."

Salyer said others told her they were not getting their medications. Still more told her they were not getting an hour out of their cell, which is the Department of Corrections' policy.

Schoenfeld challenged those allegations, saying that if anything like that occurred, inmates never reported it.

"I've not heard anything from anybody specifically in the prison to say, 'This impacted my ability to get my medications.' And we are looking into those things," he said.

Other issues inmates mentioned to Salyer, she told KSL, include getting the same sack lunches twice a day and not being able to get items from the commissary.

"(The department) told us that (inmates) were getting their commissary as normal, and then we started getting all these reports of commissary being refunded, and that's how these guys and girls supplement their calories. They don't get enough calories," Salyer claimed.

Commissary was impacted for about a week, according to Schoenfeld, because the female inmates who were also on lockdown normally work at the commissary. However, he said the prisons let inmates get an hour outside their cells each day.

"What they do with that one hour out is kind of up to them," he said, referring to those in Tier 2. "We don't restrict showers. We don't restrict recreation. We don't restrict them from using a phone."

However, he confirmed that visitation, programming, education and other services were impacted during the lockdown.

The stress of the lockdown and its restrictions led to mental health concerns for inmates, according to Salyer.

"I got reports of three different people swallowing razor blades because they couldn't call their families," Salyer said. "We had people that call their families every day going up to a week without being able to speak to their loved ones."

Again, Schoenfeld said those claims are false. They had no reports of suicidal ideation or suicide attempts during the lockdown.

Safety as top priority

Schoenfeld said that while it is unfortunate some inmates were impacted by the extended lockdown, it was necessary to investigate a brutal attack on a corrections officer and put a stop to future planned attacks.

"It was very serious, and it was a coordinated effort with this group," he said. "They were looking for a crime of opportunity. The sergeant was alone by himself in there, and they attacked him."

Schoenfeld said the correctional officer nearly died and is not yet back at work. After the attack, correctional officers are now working in pairs for safety reasons.

When the lockdown was lifted, Utah Department of Corrections Commissioner Jared Garcia said in a statement: "While we know this partial lockdown caused disruption and frustration, keeping our staff, volunteers and incarcerated individuals safe will always be our top priority.

"I need to again underscore that the September attack on our officer was violent and egregious. Such attacks and threats will not be tolerated, period."