Parish NAACP looks into jail complaints

The St. Mary Parish branch of the NAACP is investigating allegations that several inmates in the parish jail didn’t receive proper medical care while incarcerated.
St. Mary NAACP President Reginald Weary said the chapter’s redress committee decided Wednesday to talk with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office administration regarding alleged incidents at the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center in Centerville.
Weary and other NAACP leaders plan to meet with Sheriff Mark Hebert today to discuss complaints the chapter received.
“I think the medical ones will get us in the door, and then from there we can look at other issues,” Weary said.
One complaint involves an inmate who allegedly got into an altercation with another inmate inside the jail and got beaten badly, Weary said. The inmate got stitches in his head as a result, but the family says he didn’t get proper medical attention, Weary said.
The inmates who made the complaints are from different areas, including Morgan City, Franklin and Iberia Parish, Weary said. Mothers of the inmates told Weary that jail staff refused to give their sons medical attention when needed, he said.
St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Spokeswoman Traci Landry said jail staff members follow the directions of medical personnel and physicians to handle medical care in the jail.
Parish NAACP officials are in the process of investigating the complaints and want to hear “both sides” involved, Weary said. From there, the NAACP will decide its next course of action.
Weary initially learned about the alleged inadequate medical care in the parish jail while looking into reports of violence among inmates. Weary was told that certain inmates were allegedly being terrorized by “cliques” of other inmates inside the jail, he said.
Weary doesn’t think people in parish jail should have the “best of the best” conditions, but they “shouldn’t have to deal with life-threatening incidents on a daily basis,” he said.
Landry said correctional officers are proactive in separating groups of inmates who may seek to harm one another.
“That’s something that the jail staff deal with every day,” Landry said.
The parish NAACP has received other complaints relating to the parish jail and must also investigate those complaints further to determine their merit, Weary said.
Whenever Weary has called the sheriff’s office in the past, officials have “at least opened the doors and let us come in and hear our complaints,” he said.
The sheriff’s office investigates all complaints it gets, whether the complaints are from inmates or from people outside the jail, Landry said.
The NAACP chapter plans to hold a forum sometime in August with law enforcement officials in the parish and allow them to educate the public about their rights.
St. Mary Parish doesn’t have the kinds of issues between law enforcement and the public that areas such as Ferguson, Missouri, or Chicago, do, Weary said.
But Weary wants to be proactive and stay informed to ensure any issues are dealt with appropriately, he said.
Landry encouraged anyone who has complaints or concerns to contact the sheriff’s office at 985-384-1622 or 337-828-1960.