Officers inside Louisville Metro Corrections say they are exhausted by the 70- to 80-hour work weeks to make up for severe staff shortages at the jail.

WLKY spoke with three current correctional officers who have been with the police for two to seven years. They demanded that their identity be kept secret for fear of reprisals from the prison administration.

All three officers say forced overtime weighs on all staff. According to the Louisville Corrections FOP, the department used 9,776 hours of overtime in September alone.

“There are officers who have had car accidents falling asleep at the wheel on the way home from work after working their fifth 16-hour shift in a row. I have fallen asleep at the wheel on several occasions,” said one. officer.

Officers say conditions inside the prison have become unpredictable due to understaffing and overcrowding.

“There is no way of knowing what to expect when you go there. You may have a good day or it could be the third circle of hell,” said another officer.

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An officer told us that they had recently started therapy after falling into depression. Another said he was concerned the mental stability of officers and inmates was at dangerous levels.

“I feel like the problems and the stress are so heavy that someone in this prison, wise or officer or both, will kill themselves,” the officer said.

All officers agree that the equipment is unreliable and compromises the safety of inmates and officers.

“The intercoms are poor quality at best. The cameras work when they want them,” he said.

FOP Chairman Daniel Johnson told WLKY that over the weekend at least 12 brawls broke out inside the prison between several inmates. One of them went unnoticed due to the malfunction of the cameras.

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The officer working in the control room said she was not aware of the fight until they made a shift change because the camera in that dorm was not functioning properly.

“It’s a very overwhelming and stressful time when you are blind. You are literally blind,” she said.

Officers also confiscated three weapons manufactured in prison in just 24 hours.

“There were times when I witnessed things that made me feel safer when I was deployed in Afghanistan than I am in this prison,” said one officer.

He says this is the direct result of the prison administration.

“At least when I was deployed I had some working equipment. I was provided with some working protective equipment. I had some working communication equipment. We don’t have that here,” did he declare.

Despite the conditions inside the prison, the police managed to get through. But for some, the last straw came with comments from Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer following the no-confidence vote against Director Dwayne Clark.

“When you look across the country, some other states are closing prisons, releasing criminals after 90 days because they don’t have the staff to deal with them. So thinking that replacing one person is going to solve all of these problems. happening everywhere America is simplistic. It doesn’t work that way. I wish it worked that way, “Fischer said at the time.

Officers believe the mayor is only focusing on staff shortages and not on the other issues that have been raised.

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“He has no idea what it’s like to be on our floor. It pisses me off,” one officer said.

Officers say they have sounded the alarm bells on the workforce since 2017 and nothing has been done.

“It took us a long time to get here. We played well and did the right thing and it wasn’t working, so now we’re doing it,” said one officer.

For a seven-year veteran of the ministry, the decision was made to finally go.

“Integrity is important to me. Integrity is why I’m still here right now, but integrity will also be why I’m leaving,” he said.

Others say they are still not ready to accept this despite the risks of staying.

“If I leave, I would feel guilty because another officer is just going to be injured,” she said.

The mayor’s office responded by saying, “The mayor has nothing but respect for the hard work correctional officers do in a very difficult time. That’s why his team is working to increase their ranks by piloting three separate incentive programs to boost retention and recruiting. , and endorsing LMDC retaining a marketing company to build awareness. Although the full impact will take some time to determine, the pilots are already showing positive results in terms of recruiting. There is no doubt that the prison remains overcrowded, in part because of the number of state inmates held there. Director Clark has worked with the Kentucky Department of Corrections to move these inmates, and is working with the Jefferson County Attorney’s Office to resolve the issue of people being held in our jail on charges from other counties. The Mayor remains confident that Warden Clark is working on the issues facing our prison, in partnership with his great team. “