Oklahoma County jail trust hires new CEO despite recent inmate deaths
The Oklahoma County jail has a new CEO.
Members of the Oklahoma County jail trust on Monday selected Brandi Garner, who has served as the operation's interim administrator since December, to take on the responsibility permanently.
Garner's hire comes as critics call for the jail trust's dissolution following a scathing grand jury report and as the jail investigates the deaths of seven detainees who have died while she has led the operation.
The recent deaths have occurred as Garner and the trust have made changes in jail protocols to try to reduce incidents where inmates die due to illnesses, suicide or other injuries suffered inside the facility.
Garner replaces Greg Williams, who resigned in December. Trust members voted 7-0, with trustee Steven Buck absent and another seat that was supposed to have been filled by retired Maj. Gen. Michael C. Thompson also still vacant.
More: Third Oklahoma County jail inmate dies in four days
During Brandi Garner's tenure, several inmates have died in Oklahoma County's jail
The first inmate who died after Garner was named interim administrator of the jail was Luis Alberto Gonzalez, 39, who died on Dec. 21, 2022, while being held on the jail's medical floor 10 days after being arrested on a felony assault and battery complaint. Jail officials said Gonzalez suffered from a chronic health condition.
Isiah Mitchell, 26, was the first inmate in the jail to die in 2023. Mitchell was found hanging in his cell at 12:02 a.m. on Jan. 30 by a detention officer conducting a site check. He was declared dead at an area hospital about an hour and a half later. Mitchell had been arrested three days earlier after an Oklahoma City police officer who saw him riding a bicycle the wrong way on a street arrested and jailed him because he was wanted on a warrant out of Garfield County. He was in a cell alone when he was discovered.
On Feb. 27, Kenneth J. Parrott, 69, became the second inmate fatality in 2023 when he died at an area hospital after being moved there nine days earlier from the jail because of significant pre-existing medical issues. Parrott was arrested Oct. 30 after someone was shot in the leg from a car in Oklahoma City. He faced a felony charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. His bond had been set at $100,000. While jail officials were working to secure a medical release for Parrott, he died before that process could be completed.
The third jail detainee to die in 2023 was Dina Kirven, 26, who was found unresponsive in a holding cell just before 7 a.m. April 8. Kirven had been booked into the detention center about six hours earlier after being arrested by Oklahoma City police on an unauthorized use of a vehicle complaint.
Courtenay Jean Doyle, 37, became the fourth jail detainee to die in 2023 after being found unresponsive in her cell during site checks made early on April 22. Doyle had been jailed March 13 after police reported finding methamphetamine when she was stopped in Bethany. Doyle faced drug trafficking and possession of drug paraphernalia charges and bail had been set at $25,000.
Less than 48 hours after that, convicted detainee Frank Ramirez, 37, was found in distress inside his cell by a detention officer. While the detention officer, EMSA and fire personnel tried to save him, Ramirez died.
The most recent inmate to die while in the county's custody was Amber Owens, 40, who died April 24 after falling at a hospital where she was undergoing a procedure needed before she could be released on a medical own recognizance bond. Life-saving efforts were unsuccessful. Owens had been booked into the jail on March 31, accused of malicious injury or destruction of property, assault and battery and assault and battery upon a medical care provider.
Garner told trust members that investigations continue involving the April deaths, and she anticipates criminal charges could result.
Critics continue to call for jail trust's abolishment
On Monday, a criminal justice reform group called for Oklahoma County commissioners to follow recommendations made by a multicounty grand jury to return control of the jail to the sheriff.
Since the Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority took control of the county jail on July 1, 2020, 43 inmates have died.
In a report issued in March, the grand jury:
Blamed the operation's high number of deaths on inadequate drug interdictions and health screenings.
Called for the trust overseeing the detention center's operations to be dissolved.
The grand jury did not issue indictments, however.
More: Four more sites offered as potential home of new Oklahoma County jail. Find out where they are
Mark Faulk, a representative of the People's Council for Justice Reform, told commissioners it is time for them to act, accusing trustees belonging to the authority of knowingly, willfully and negligently disregarding the jury's recommendations.
"The People’s Council for Justice Reform has repeatedly called for the trust and its trustees to be held criminally accountable for their failure to provide a constitutional, safe, and humane jail. Instead, they have continued down a path plagued with death, torture, rape, and medical neglect, leading to dozens of ongoing costly civil lawsuits. Criminal negligence is a crime, and no one is above the law," a statement issued by the group this week reads.
While the council's statement does not attack Garner directly, it criticizes the trust for failing to provide her the funding and resources needed to provide a safe environment for detainees.
Faulk and several of his colleagues also addressed members of the jail trust during its meeting Monday afternoon. They nearly were escorted out of the meeting by deputies after they refused to stay quiet and engaged in a shouting match with vice-chair Ben Brown and other trust members.
Brown cut the meeting short because of the disruption, taking the trust into executive session to discuss Garner's potential employment. The executive session lasted about 45 minutes before trust members returned to open session and approved a motion made by County Commissioner Myles Davidson to hire her.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: New Oklahoma County Jail CEO hired despite inmate deaths, scathing report
