Judge asked to ban surprise health inspections at Oklahoma County jail

The trust overseeing the Oklahoma County jail is asking a judge to permanently block state health inspectors from conducting surprise inspections.

In a petition that started out with a quote from former President Donald Trump, the trust contends the Oklahoma State Department of Health has no legal authority to conduct the disruptive unannounced inspections.

The request for a ban is the latest twist in the dispute between the jail trust and health officials. Health inspectors showed up at the jail on June 25 and again July 9 but were turned away. Heath Commissioner Keith Reed ordered the jail on July 15 to permit the surprise inspections or face administrative penalties.

The trust is asking Oklahoma County District Judge Brent Dishman for preliminary and permanent injunctions. No hearing has been set yet.

The petition was filed Monday, hours after the jail had its fifth inmate death of the year,

Timothy Lee Hardin Jr., 21, of Oklahoma City, was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell during site checks around 6:30 a.m. Monday, the jail said in a news release. Efforts to revive him were unsuccessful. He did not have a cellmate.

He was last observed by an officer and on video getting breakfast at 4:48 a.m. Monday, the jail said. Oklahoma County Commissioner Brian Maughan said he was told the death is being investigated as a possible drug overdose.

Oklahoma City police arrested Hardin May 15. He was facing a felony charge of violation of a protective order.

The jail has had more than 40 deaths since the trust took over its operation on July 1, 2020.

A yearlong investigation by The Oklahoman found the jail had become one of the deadliest in the United States. The state's multicounty grand jury last year said many of the deaths were preventable .

What the petition said about Trump

In a sworn statement filed with the petition, the jail administrator, Brandi Garner, said a surprise inspection is a burden on the detention staff and interferes with both important administrative work and critical jail functions. She said the U.S. Justice Department gives the jail a 60-day notice before an inspection.

She also said the health inspectors were asked June 25 to schedule an appointment.

The petition starts out with a statement Trump made at a rally in New Hampshire last year. He said, "The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within."

The trust then told the judge, "The dangers posed by the administrative state are real and while President Donald Trump railed against them at the federal level, they have gone unchecked in Oklahoma. This is plainly evident with the Oklahoma State Department of Health."

The Legislature gave health inspectors "express power" to make unannounced inspections at some facilities like nursing homes but not jails, the trust argued.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Judge asked to ban surprise health inspections at Oklahoma County jail