OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) — A recent state inspection and recorded jail phone calls from a former inmate are offering two perspectives on conditions inside the Oklahoma County Detention Center.
An unannounced inspection conducted May 5 by the Oklahoma State Department of Health found the jail was “not in substantial compliance” with multiple standards, citing deficiencies involving staffing, inmate safety, sanitation, food service, maintenance, and medical reporting.
At the same time, FOX 25 obtained recorded phone calls made by former inmate Brent Swadley while he was being held at the jail awaiting sentencing after his fraud conviction. Swadley has since been transferred to another facility.
The inspection provides an official snapshot of conditions inside the jail. Swadley’s recorded calls provide one inmate’s firsthand account.
The Health Department’s inspection identified numerous concerns throughout the facility.
Among the findings:
- Just seven detention officers were assigned to supervise 1,502 inmates on the day of the inspection.
- Inspectors found 2,471 required inmate safety checks had not been documented.
- Investigators cited sanitation concerns, including grime, pooled liquid, damaged flooring in the kitchen and dirty mop buckets stored near food preparation areas.
- The report found deficiencies involving food service and adequate diet.
- Inspectors documented multiple inmates sleeping on the floor because of insufficient beds.
- Investigators also found several instances where inmates required outside medical treatment but the Health Department was not notified as required.
In recorded calls obtained by FOX 25, Swadley described what he says he experienced while housed at the jail.
“It ain’t good people here that’s the problem at all,” Swadley said in one call. “It’s the rules and the policies and the mindset that they’re forced to adapt.”
In another call, he expressed sympathy for detention staff.
“I say all the times to the staff, the nurses, the guards… I don’t know how they do it. I don’t know how they put up with, I mean, literally honey, this would break your heart if you saw it and witnessed these inmates treat them like crap,” he said.
While inspectors documented sanitation concerns throughout the facility, Swadley described additional conditions he says he witnessed, including mice, maggots and odors he compared to an animal kennel. Those specific allegations were not documented in the state inspection report.
The inspection also found deficiencies involving food service. In multiple recorded calls, Swadley described being served cold meals.
“The grits and everything came… it was cold, like room temperature,” he said. “They need so much help in there.”
He also complained about the nutritional quality of the meals.
“We don’t get any dairy of any kind. No milk, no nothing. And of course, no fresh fruit or vegetables at all,” Swadley said in another call.
Along with suffering a severe injury to his finger after getting stuck in a jail door, Swadley described other health concerns while incarcerated, including elevated blood pressure and an incident in which he said he passed out after visiting the jail’s medical unit.
In another series of calls, Swadley described hearing a mentally ill inmate scream for hours overnight and said the experience left him wanting to comfort the man.
“I just want to go up there and give him a hug,” Swadley said. “Even God loves you.”
He also described the challenges unique to county jails, where inmates are constantly arriving and leaving while awaiting trial.
“They’ve got so many people moving in and out of here so quick that you don’t know what’s up or down,” he said.
Despite his criticisms, Swadley repeatedly said he believes conditions could improve.
“They have the capability of making this place effective,” he said.
FOX 25 asked both the Oklahoma County Detention Center and the Oklahoma State Department of Health about the inspection findings and the conditions described in Swadley’s recorded calls.
Jail officials declined to comment on Swadley’s time at the facility, citing a court order.
“With respect to the comments attributed to Mr. Swadley, we are under a court order not to discuss or release any information on Mr. Swadley’s time in the facility,” Oklahoma County Detention Center Communications Director Mark Opgrande said in a statement.
Regarding the inspection, Opgrande said the detention center is preparing a comprehensive response for the Health Department but is “not in a position to comment on specific findings, corrective actions, staffing, or operational matters related to the inspection at this time.”
The Oklahoma State Department of Health told FOX 25 it has not conducted a follow-up inspection since May and therefore cannot determine whether any deficiencies have been corrected.
Agency spokesman Erica Rankin also said Oklahoma law does not require detention facilities to submit corrective action plans following an inspection.
According to the Health Department, inspectors will review previously cited deficiencies during the jail’s next inspection, and any enforcement decisions will be based on the results of that review and the agency’s statutory authority.
The Oklahoma County Detention Center continues to undergo renovations while county officials move forward with plans for a replacement jail facility.
