LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Metro Council President David James (District 6) called for Mayor Greg Fischer to remove Director Dwayne Clark and his staff from their positions in Louisville Metro Department of Corrections Monday.
James, Councilwoman Amy Holton Stewart (District 25) and Councilman Mark Fox (District 13) planned to file a resolution stating they have “no confidence” in the leadership of Clark and his executive staff.
“Over the past 12 months, six inmates have died while in custody of Corrections, five of which have occurred since this past November,” said Holton Stewart. “There have been days when Metro Corrections would run on a fraction of the manpower necessary for the jail to be considered safe.”
The resolution states that there are over 130 sworn vacancies, that the safety of people in the jail is in jeopardy, and that Clark and his executive staff have allowed morale to “deteriorate to dangerous levels through unprofessional leadership practices.”
“On September 24th of 2021, six female inmates were sent to the hospital and another 10 were observed in the jail for a mass overdose,” said Holton Stewart.
Last month, Clark told council members that two of the people who died appeared to have medical issues, but their causes of death were pending.
In a memo to council members Friday, Clark said he would begin providing biweekly briefings, and pointed to new starting hourly rates and pay increases for current officers.
He outlined changes to inmate health care and shared about a new jail dashboard.
“This is the time where we have to stand up and say, ‘The time is now,’” said James. “There’s too little, too late. A sense of urgency is needed to make our city better and to make our jail better.”
Jessica Wethington, the mayor’s director of communications, provided a statement Monday evening, saying in part that Metro Corrections is “suffering historic vacancy rates ... Our Corrections leadership team is facing unprecedented challenges in the past two years during the global pandemic, so it is expected that Director Dwayne Clark and his team will be examined from every corner.”
According to Wethington, Clark and his team are raising salaries, launching hiring incentives, working with the state and several offices to reduce the inmate population, enhancing medical care and working with the mayor’s office to develop a public services task force.
Wethington called the members’ filing of the resolution “unhelpful and divisive, and an unnecessary distraction from the important efforts Director Clark and his team have been making in this unprecedented time of challenges.”