Brandy Abner, the mother of the teen, attended the Montgomery County commission meeting on Tuesday along with Trammell’s sister, Alexia, and members of the Montgomery County Jail Coalition.
The mother described the treatment of her son in the jail as “torture.”
“He begged for mercy. He begged for someone to listen. He begged for a phone call, for medicine. He begged for a simple drink of water,” Abner said. “My son was tortured in that jail, the jail that you provide.”
The Montgomery County Jail Coalition has called for a state-led investigation into the death of Trammell and other inmates at the pre-trial facility last year. Abner said she and her family support this effort.
“You have yet to take action since the news about my son has come out. You’ve kept your heads in the sand,” Abner said with tears. “If you’re taking this seriously, more people would be alive today.”
Trammell’s younger sister, Alexia, pleaded with county officials to take action.
“You are leaders in our community, it is your job to protect us to make sure everything is just and safe,” Alexia Trammell said.
Any investigation of the jail would not be led by the commission, county officials said, but commissioners are supportive of the coalition’s efforts to petition the state for a comprehensive review of the pre-trial facility.
“There’s no words to express our deepest, deepest sympathies. Each one of those deaths was a tragedy nobody wanted to happen,” said Montgomery County Commission President Debbie Lieberman.
Trammell’s death was among seven reported from January through July last year, and in December a man died after being transferred from the jail to the hospital.
Dayton Daily News reporting revealed more inmates died at the Montgomery County Jail last year than all of 2021 and 2022 combined, leading to calls for the community to take action.
Our analysis of state data also showed more people died after coming into custody at the Montgomery County jail last year than any other jail in Ohio. The Dayton Daily News investigated what was causing this rash of fatalities, and what county officials were doing about it.
County officials have said the Montgomery County Commission does not have authority over the jail aside from infrastructure and equipment. Montgomery County Sheriff Rob Streck is tasked with overseeing jail operations.
Yvonne Curington, a member of the Montgomery County Jail Coalition, said the commission needs to work with the sheriff’s office to prevent harm at the facility.
“That’s my concern: what are we going to do now?” she said. “These are human beings and they deserve better care than what they’re getting over there.”
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