CLEVELAND — The union representing Cuyahoga County corrections officers is calling for changes in the way the county screens applicants following a series of high-profile incidents involving what leaders call inappropriate relationships between jailers and the inmates they’re paid to watch over.
“Is this just jailers gone wild in some cases?” News 5 Investigators asked Adam Chaloupka, an attorney with the Ohio Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the union representing the county’s officers.
“Sometimes, it looks like it,” Chaloupka said.
Over the last seven and a half months, county records indicate that five corrections officers have been fired or placed on leave due to the incidents.
That includes two jailers accused of taking part in a “fight club” inside the jail. Watch more below:
RELATED: 'Fight Club' at Cuyahoga County jail? 2 jailers on leave.
Another was fired after investigators said she admitted drinking on the job, engaging in "horseplay" with an inmate, talking to and flirting with inmates on the phone, and giving tequila to an inmate.
“I gave him two spray bottles, and I gave one of the spray bottles, he sprayed the pod with. And the other one, he took it and poured it into a cup,” Toiyonna Lard told investigators during a recorded interview about the incident.
Another corrections officer was placed on administrative leave after deputies said she took part in a plan to smuggle drugs into the jail.
Chaloupka said he couldn’t remember seeing case after case like this.
“Some of this stuff is not just dumb mistakes that cause you to lose your job,” said Chaloupka. “Some of this stuff potentially puts you in prison.”
Daniela Jauk-Ajamie is an assistant professor of sociology at The University of Akron who studies women in the criminal justice system.
She believes the cases show a pattern of corrections officers engaging in inappropriate relationships with inmates.
Jauk-Ajamie said research shows women working in jails may be targeted for exploitation.
“Women have to rely on compliant residents,” said Jauk-Ajamie. “And it goes incrementally. The grooming process, right? There is a collaboration and builds from there.”
She said newer corrections officers are particularly at risk.
Shantia Kirkland had worked as a corrections officer for less than a year when investigators said she disguised her identity to send emails and take part in video chats with the father of her child, who was also an inmate, locked up facing murder charges.
In one case, Kirkland was even accused of overseeing the man’s unit while she worked as a jailer.
She was also accused of discussing jail business with the inmate.
Kirkland was fired in April.
Jauk-Ajamie said jail administrators need to go a step further and create what she called a “culture of integrity.”
“That might involve mental health support, that might involve wellness programs, that might involve outlets for correctional officers to get the support they need, the resources they need so they do not have to fraternize with residents,” said Jauk-Ajamie.
However, the union worries that things have reached a breaking point and believes officers are fed up with the county’s hiring practices.
“We don’t want these salacious cases where somebody brings drugs to the jail, allegedly, or somebody is having an inappropriate relationship with inmates, giving them tequila from a spray bottle,” said Chaloupka. “That just makes everyone look bad and it makes it so much harder for those officers to do their job.”
He’s calling for stricter screening of people applying to be corrections officers.
Chaloupka believes the process should include polygraph testing and deeper dives into applicants’ backgrounds, like what prospective sheriff’s deputies face.
He hopes the changes will help weed out potential problems before they reach the jail.
“When you put officers that have actually done things that are truly in violation, they’re truly putting officers and inmates in harm’s way, you degrade life safety in that jail,” Chaloupka said.
A county spokesperson declined a request for an interview about the concerns.
Instead, she issued a statement that said, in part, “We hold our corrections officers to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and conduct,” and that any behavior that compromises those is unacceptable.
When pressed about the union’s concerns about screening applicants, Director of Communications Kelly Woodard replied, “no further comment.”
