MEMPHIS, Tenn — On Wednesday, Sheriff Floyd Bonner spoke with reporters on the conditions of the Shelby County Jail.
The Shelby County Jail has not been without its share of controversy. Leshawn Metcalf spent seven months inside of 201 Poplar and just got out two weeks ago. He remembers all of the living conditions he experienced.
“201’s filthy,” Metcalf said. “We have rats. Every night we see rats come out. Your toilet might not work for four days before maintenance gets in, things like that. It’s very unsanitary; a lot of people get sick down there.”
However, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said it’s impossible for conditions to be that bad when the jail passes multiple accreditations.
“We’ve been accredited by the state; we’ve been nationally accredited,” Sheriff Bonner said. “So, I hate to be in an interview and defending what an inmate is saying. I’m telling you what I see. I go through the jail. We have staff that goes through the jail. Do feces ever get placed on the floor or walls? I’m sure it does. But it’s not standing in feces.”
Whether he wants to defend the claims or not, concerns of feces and other bodily fluids being around the jail are common from former inmates, including former inmate Samuel Hogan who ABC24 spoke with just last month.
“The cells are usually covered in human feces and everything and blood, bugs everywhere,” Samuel Hogan said.
“Inmates throw feces on other people or feces in a cell left from someone before,” Metcalf said.
Former inmates have also raised the issue of safety.
“People carry shanks and homemade weapons in there because of security risks,” Metcalf said. "People carry around those type of weapons for their own safety, even going to medical.”
Metcalf said a lack of staffing doesn’t help, and Sheriff Bonner agrees.
“We don’t have enough staff,” Sheriff Bonner said. “Staffing is an issue that I’ve had to deal with.”
The Sheriff said he’s working to improve staffing, but former inmates told ABC24 the safety of those inside 201 Poplar can’t wait.