ST. LOUIS — The leader of the city’s jail oversight panel on Thursday called for the resignation of the city’s jail commissioner.
Janis Mensah, the chair of the Detention Facility Oversight Board, told reporters outside City Hall that Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah has withheld records, barred board members from touring the facility to investigate complaints, and refused to meet with the board tasked with holding her department accountable.
Mensah said none of that is consistent with the promises made two years ago, when Mayor Tishaura O. Jones took office pledging to reimagine the city’s approach to public safety, closed the controversial Workhouse jail on Hall Street, in north ºüÀêÊÓƵ, and appointed Clemons-Abdullah to oversee the city Corrections Department.
“It’s clear that improved conditions and accountability are not a priority,†Mensah said.
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A city spokesman said the city heard the board members’ concerns, and was working to make sure the board could “operate effectively as an oversight body.â€
The call for Clemons-Abdullah’s resignation follows a difficult year for the city’s jail system. While the old Workhouse remains empty, the City Justice Center on South Tucker Boulevard has been rocked by the deaths of six detainees as well as complaints about the physical abuse of other detainees and a lack of water and showers.
When the oversight board tried to investigate use-of-force issues, board members said Clemons-Abdullah worked to keep records secret.
And this week, Matthew Brummund, an ex-FBI agent serving as commissioner of the city’s Division of Civilian Oversight, resigned, citing concerns about transparency and access issues.
“I believe that the Detention Facility Oversight Board will not be allowed to effectively function as an oversight body as it was intended, and that even if the current objections … were resolved, new objections would take their place,†Brummund wrote in his resignation letter.
“I hope I am proven wrong, as I still believe in the importance of Civilian Oversight in bridging the divide between law enforcement and our community.â€