Montana State Prison guard says superiors kept him locked in at shift end

DEER LODGE — A Montana State Jail correctional officer desires prices introduced in opposition to two of his superiors after he stated they saved him locked in a guard cage for about 20-Half-hour after his shift ended.

Anthony Cotton advised the Powell County Sheriff’s Workplace in a report filed July 28, {that a} member of command workers on the Montana State Jail advised a unit sergeant to not let Cotton out of a management cage when his shift was completed.

“He stated they advised him to not ship anybody down,” Cotton stated. “I stated ‘They’ll’t try this.’ And that I would really like him to ship any individual down now as a result of I’m not staying.”

In response to Cotton’s report, the incident occurred on July 25, about 5 days earlier than the Montana State Jail switched to 12-hour shifts. The altering of shift schedules ended holdover shifts, stated Alexandria Klapmeier, a Montana Division of Corrections spokesperson. The rejiggering of the schedule was one among a number of options DOC management proposed because it tries to handle underneath staffing on the jail. Nonetheless, some correctional officers stated the 12-hour shift is problematic and administration is just not doing sufficient to assist workers throughout a tough time.

In an e mail to MTN Information Thursday, Klapmeier didn’t deal with the report filed by Cotton, however stated, “if a workers member refuses to remain for a shift, they’re free to go away.”

Somebody did relieve Cotton, he stated. However after he left the jail he despatched a coworker a textual content and stated he was “Significantly at a psychological break down,” due to jail administration. The day earlier than, Cotton stated jail command workers had additionally tried to drive him to remain for an additional shift.

“I used to be very offended,” Cotton stated. “And mentally I used to be just about completed with them.”

Cotton is about two and a half years from having the ability to stop his jail job and maintain his retirement advantages, he stated. He was nervous about what submitting prices in opposition to his bosses would possibly imply for his future on the jail, he stated. However the night time his superiors tried to maintain him hostage on the jail, he stated he’d lastly had sufficient.

As of Thursday, the Powell County Sheriff’s Workplace had Cotton’s case open, however no prices had been filed.

Each DOC Director Brian Gootkin and Public Security Chief Jim Anderson have testified earlier than interim legislative committees concerning the division’s wrestle to rent correctional officers. At a jail board assembly in June, Montana State Ladies’s Jail additionally reported problem hiring workers, and stated the ladies’s jail was down 15 correctional officers on the time.

Crossroads Correctional Heart, which is a personal jail that DOC contracts with, additionally reported hiring points and stated it was bringing in correctional officers from out-of-state. When Crossroads has a vacant place for greater than 90 days, DOC can penalize the corporate by withholding contract funds. As of Aug. 2, the DOC had withheld about $390,000 in fiscal yr 2022.

Individuals proceed to go away their jail jobs, stated Cathy Clark, president of the Montana State Jail worker union. At a union assembly Tuesday, Clark stated three individuals put of their two weeks discover earlier that day.

“The final time I calculated it was 158 (correctional officers), final yr it was 296,” Clark stated. “That ought to let you know how outnumbered they’re.”

Clark started working for the Montana State Jail within the mail room about 14 years in the past. Worker morale is at an all-time low, she stated.

Through the union assembly, workers joked about how the 12-hour shift was supposed to unravel all the pieces. Many had points with how the shift change was applied, highlighting how nobody was given extra trip hours, regardless of now having to take 12 hours of trip to cowl a shift the place they used to take simply eight hours. If an worker had 32 hours of trip, they’re paid go away goes from 4 days to about two and a half, Klapmeier acknowledged.

Nonetheless, Klapmeier identified the adjustments to the shift schedule means workers go from working 10 days out of every pay interval to working seven days.

Staff additionally stated they’ve struggled to get breaks throughout their shifts, which may be much more irritating when a shift is 12 hours lengthy. On Aug. 9, a correctional officer filed an incident report after they stated they’d completed an 11-hour shift with no break.

“The DOC supplies workers with breaks all through the day,” Klapmeier stated. “Apart from throughout a facility emergency.”

The DOC doesn’t touch upon staffing numbers, Klapmeier stated. Nonetheless, they’ve acknowledged the staffing points on the jail and are working to handle the difficulty with present workers and expanded recruitment work, she stated. The security and safety of the general public, workers and the individuals serving sentences on the jail is the “high precedence of the DOC,” Klapmeier stated.

Nonetheless, Clark stated administration is just not listening to workers issues and the state of affairs is harmful. Staff are pissed off, however so are the incarcerated individuals contained in the jail, Clark stated.

“They’re not getting yard, they’re not getting psychological well being companies like they’re purported to,” Clark stated. “So, it’s a stress cooker.”