ACLU challenges Broward jails on COVID protection

Broward jails are not doing enough to protect inmates and employees from the threat of COVID-19, according to legal action filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida.

Though the Broward Sheriff’s Office disputes the allegations, the Florida ACLU says testing of people who are entering the jail has been nonexistent, at least until recently, and testing of people who have been exposed has been far less than adequate. The civil rights group was joined in legal action against the jail last year by the national ACLU, Disability Rights Florida, and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

The federal suit did not include Miami-Dade or Palm Beach counties.

Earlier this week the organizations filed a motion in federal court seeking to force the Broward Sheriff’s Office to comply with an agreement to protect the jail population by testing new inmates and placing those with symptoms or who test positive in quarantine.

“Last month we had a medical expert go into the jail, and at the time they weren’t doing testing at all at admission,” said Curtis Filaroski, staff attorney for Disability Rights Florida. “This is a public safety issue. The jail population is a vulnerable one. An outbreak there will affect those who work there, and that will affect law enforcement and the public.”A

Nancy Rosenbloom , an attorney for the national ACLU, credited the Broward Sheriff’s Office with voicing the commitment to protect the jail population. “They certainly expressed a willingness to do the right thing,” she said. “Our position is that they are out of compliance. They are not doing the things they agreed to do.”

The Sheriff’s Office, which runs the jail, said Thursday that the agency is complying with the agreement it reached with the plaintiffs late last year.

“The facts are that our Department of Detention is meeting or exceeding its obligations under the settlement agreement, and was doing so even prior to the filing of the lawsuit,” said agency spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright. “We are following CDC guidelines for correctional facilities. Staff and inmates are being provided with PPE. Rapid testing is being conducted on all inmates during the intake/booking process.”

According to BSO, over 1,700 inmates have been vaccinated.

No hearing date has been set for the ACLU’s complaint.

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