Montgomery County Administrator Michael Colbert and Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck on Tuesday released a joint statement about the civilian oversight committee proposal, stating several entities have oversight over the jail.
This includes the Ohio Bureau of Adult Detention, Public Health – Dayton & Montgomery County, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Montgomery County Grand Jury.
“We value community input and recognize the importance of continued dialogue around the Montgomery County Jail,” according to the statement.
Members of the jail coalition, which consists of community members who have concerns over deaths among inmates at the facility over the past few years, delivered a petition to the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery County Administrative Building on Tuesday.
The petition, which contained more than 2,000 signatures, calls on Montgomery County officials to form a permanent, independent civilian oversight body that would be able to tour the jail without advance notice and with full access to all spaces.
The civilian oversight group would also review use-of-force incidents, audit health care services, advise on policies and procedures, and investigate complaints from detainees, families, and advocates, as proposed by the jail coalition.
Pruce said several other communities have established community-led oversight group for their incarceration systems — these groups are intended to provide more transparency to the incarceration process and prevent harm.
“Our community is here to bring everyone to the table to insist that the problem needs to be fixed. It needs to be fixed today,” Pruce said.
The Montgomery County Jail has reported multiple deaths among inmates since 2023. Two families of men who died at the jail in recent years — Isaiah Trammell and Christian Black — attended Tuesday’s press conference.
Credit: Edited by Bryant Billing
Trammell, 19, was brought to the Montgomery County Jail on a warrant in February 2023. Security footage from the jail shows him striking his head multiple times while in custody and being put into a restraint chair.
The footage shows him plead for medication before falling unconscious. He later died at an area hospital.
His father, Celsey, said the community must demand change. When his son was detained, Celsey Trammell said Isaiah pleaded with officers who arrested him not to bring him to Montgomery County.
“He looked the officer dead in the face and said, ‘Do not take me there. I will die!’” Celsey Trammell said.
It’s been two years since his son’s death, and he says his family still has unanswered questions.
“We need oversight into the jail system,” Trammell said through tears. “If we had an oversight committee that would have come in, we could have found out exactly what happened.”
Isaiah Trammell’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Montgomery County and Naphcare, the medical provider for the jail.
In March, Christian Black also died while in the custody of the county jail. His family is working with a team of local lawyers to investigate his death and has demanded that several corrections officers be charged with murder.
The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office ruled his death as a homicide. Black’s relatives have said Christian had no prior medical conditions and was a healthy, athletic 25-year-old.
No charges have been filed in connection with his death as of this week.
Since 2019, the Montgomery County commission has allocated $6.6 million for jail improvements. Construction is also expected to begin soon for a $20 million behavioral health unit at the jail, county officials said.
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