Oklahoma County jail trustee quits, saying she has 'little hope' of adequate funding

The last founding member of the Oklahoma County jail trust quit Monday out of frustration over funding.

Sue Ann Arnall, an attorney and philanthropist, wrote in her letter of resignation that her departure from the jail trust was effective immediately. She had served almost five years.

"I am proud of the hard-fought progress we have made, but there is still much left to do," she wrote. "Attaining the operations and staffing goals at the Oklahoma County Detention Center is not possible without adequate funding from Oklahoma County. Unfortunately, at this point, we have hit a critical impasse."

She specifically complained that she had unsuccessfully pleaded for two years for $1.5 million to remodel the jail's unsafe booking area. Instead, she wrote, the county's elected officials "deemed a $17.5 million remodel of the Sheriff's offices more important."

She also said county officials do not provide enough funds to pay detention officers. "It is simply impossible to hire the necessary number of Detention Officers at the current starting salary," she wrote.

Resigning jail trust member has 'little hope that adequate funds will be provided in the future'

She wrote that the county is responsible for the lives of every detainee at the jail. She called them "some of our most vulnerable community members."

"Many are experiencing homelessness, mental health crises, or suffering from substance use," she wrote.

"My pleas to the county to adequately fund the jail have fallen on deaf ears for too long," she wrote. "Despite carrying the highest cost and highest liability risk of any other county responsibility, the jail trust does not have a voice on the county budget board.

"Because of this, the jail trust receives what is left over after all ... budget board members take care of their own department needs and pet projects first. I have little hope that adequate funds will be provided in the future. Because of this, I am unable to do the job for which I was appointed."

More: Broken Trust: How the Oklahoma County jail leadership failed those it sought to protect

County commissioners voted in May 2019 to create the trust. Arnall was one of the nine original members. They started meeting that same year.

The trust officially took over jail operations from the sheriff's office on July 1, 2020, promising conditions there would improve.

There would be public transparency, improved safety and a more humane environment for the more than 1,600 detainees that are often held in the facility, the trust promised. Instead, the jail became one of the deadliest in the United States, a yearlong investigation by The Oklahoman found.

Oklahoma County jail still faces many of the same problems it had when it opened

Overcrowding has eased. But the trust has faced many of the same problems sheriffs had dealt with since the 13-story facility opened in 1991 west of downtown Oklahoma City.

Last year, the state's multicounty grand jury called for the trust to be dissolved and the jail turned back over to the sheriff.

The grand jury made the recommendation after a 14-month investigation of health issues and the high number of deaths there. No action has been taken on that recommendation.

Grand jurors blamed the significant loss of life within the jail on "inadequate staffing, funding, surveillance and training, coupled with poor law enforcement protocols." Grand jurors called on the jail to hire 100 more detention officers.

The latest change in the trust comes at a time of increased scrutiny of the jail by the U.S. Department of Justice. It also comes as county commissioners are struggling to find a site for a new jail. A decision on the site could come Wednesday.

In her resignation letter, Arnall, 67, pointed out that "we are at least five years away from completion of the new facility."

The issue in the booking area became highly publicized two years ago when an inmate walked away unnoticed after being fingerprinted and allegedly raped another inmate.

The other inmate was handcuffed to a bar at the jail. She was awaiting release after having been arrested hours before on complaints of public drunkenness, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

In a statement about Arnall's resignation, other members said Monday that remodeling is underway in the booking area, but more is needed.

The other members said Arnall's "insight and dedication to improving the lives of employees and detainees will be deeply missed."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma County jail trustee quits over lack of funding for operations