Milwaukee County sheriff responds to criticism after recent jail deaths

MILWAUKEE - Local elected officials are criticizing leadership at the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office over jail deaths. 

FOX6 News spoke one-on-one with Milwaukee County Sheriff Denita Ball, who is standing her ground.

What we know:

Ball has been under fire for over a week, with several elected officials questioning the integrity of her office over the recent jail deaths.

State Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) called out her office for a toxic culture and "flat out lies." In a statement, Clancy said the sheriff’s neglect is killing Milwaukee residents.

Ball said that is unfair because she and her team work hard to keep the jail safe.

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"It just frustrates me because they are Monday morning quarterbacking," Ball said. "It really ticks me off because this is a lie. We actually look at all of our processes, especially if we have an in-custody death, but we do it on a regular basis to see how we can improve the lives of those in our care and our custody."

Dig deeper:

There have been two deaths at the Milwaukee County Jail since March. None were reported last year, but since 2020, there have been 14.

"I don’t know how many more times the sheriff can say one death is too many and do almost nothing to prevent those deaths," Clancy said.

Clancy said he's trying to pass two pieces of legislation that could make a difference.

"One would compel a sheriff or folks at the state to give access to officials to see the conditions that are going on in there," Clancy said. "The other would allow the [Milwaukee] County Board to take control of the jail and let them administer it themselves."

In a statement last week, the MCSO said its made 18 changes to its policy, with most focusing on suicide watch. But Ball said the issue is deeper.

"We have over 900 people within our care, and our custody each day and a third of them are on psychotropic drugs," Ball said. "We have people who have been diagnosed or undiagnosed with mental health issues."

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What's next:

Ball said the jail will also be part of a suicide prevention study this fall. 

Supervisors Juan Martinez and Justin Bielinski also say they want accountability from the sheriff's office.

They are inviting people impacted by conditions at the jail to speak at a Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and General Services Committee meeting on Tuesday, June 17. The meeting will be held at 9 a.m. in Room 203R of the Milwaukee County Courthouse.