Judge Calls For Review Of Lakewood Jail For Drug-Sharing Incident

LAKEWOOD, OH — Municipal Judge Patrick Carroll has called for an independent review of Lakewood Jail policies following reports of inmates improperly sharing drugs with each other. Carroll asked Mayor Mike Summers and Police Chief Tim Malley to invite a third party such as the Ohio attorney general's office to review the jail.

In October, on three separate occasions, prisoners were discovered sharing Suboxone, a drug used to treat opioid addiction, according to a police investigation obtained by Patch.

The Suboxone in question was administered via strips of film placed beneath the tongue. After the medication was given to one of the inmates, he would pull it from his mouth and share it with other inmates.

Police conducted an internal investigation into how the inmates were able to share the Suboxone and whether existing jail policies permitted the drug-sharing. The investigation concluded that officers were giving the medication to inmates and leaving before ensuring they had taken the full dose.

Four officers were reprimanded for not watching the inmate take his medication, according to an email from Malley to Summers.

The police investigation also suggested updating jail policies so inmates must receive and take their medications at the jail's booking window or, if the inmate is confined to his cell, through the cell bars.

The investigation said this might be the first time an inmate had shared medication from a dissolving film with other inmates.

"We haven’t made a decision on whether to seek outside review of our jail procedures in the wake of this limited incident, which we investigated comprehensively," Malley told Patch in an email.

Carroll said this information should have been shared with him.

"I was disappointed that, in light of the defendants involved being in jail awaiting sentencing with substance abuse related issues, the information [on the] drug use in jail was withheld from the court," the judge said in a letter to Malley and Summers.

Carroll first expressed concern over the operation of Lakewood Jail when a prisoner was given an unauthorized release in September, about two weeks before the drug-sharing was discovered.

Christopher Krost was in Lakewood police custody on petty theft charges on Sept. 6. He was taken to a hospital for psychiatric treatment, Chief Malley said. When his treatment was completed on Sept. 30, he was released without authorization.

Krost was taken back into custody a day later, Malley said.

Again, Carroll accused the police department of not sharing information on the unauthorized release with him or his office. He said a third party should be brought in to ensure the jail is functioning properly.

"Regarding both situations, I am concerned about the lack of any duty to report or oversight beyond the police department itself in either of the revised police policies," Carroll said in a letter to Summers and Malley.