MULTNOMAH COUNTY, Ore. — An inmate in custody was found dead in her cell at the Multnomah County Detention Center in downtown Portland on Thursday night, the seventh in-custody death reported by Multnomah County officials this year. There were three reported deaths in 2022.
The woman was found unresponsive inside her cell Thursday night. Despite medical attention, she was pronounced dead by paramedics. The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) identified the woman as 51-year-old Tera Anne Harris. She'd been in jail since December 2021. Harris' cause of death is under investigation.
There have been 10 in-custody deaths reported at Multnomah County jails since the start of 2022, a sharp rise over previous years. Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrissey O'Donnell said there were no in-custody deaths in 2021 and 2020, and according to the Oregon Justice Resource Center (OJRC), since 2010 and prior to this year, the highest number of deaths reported in one year in Multnomah County custody had been four, which happened twice, in 2010 and again in 2015.
On Aug. 9, O'Donnell announced that she'd asked Oregon State Police (OSP) to conduct an independent review of the in-custody deaths. Two days before that, the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) accepted a request from MCSO to independently assess the sheriff's office's facilities, operations, policies and services.
"These are important steps to ensure transparency in the work we do and build and maintain the community's trust in us," O'Donnell said. "Should OSP and NIC identify areas of improvement at the conclusion of their respective assessments, we welcome their recommendations, and we will share them with the public when it is appropriate to do so."
A spokesperson for the sheriff's office said Friday that NIC is scheduled to visit Multnomah County in November and a report should be available within a couple months. The review by OSP is ongoing, MCSO said.
O'Donnell said in August that MCSO had instituted the following short-, mid- and long-term strategies to address the rise in in-custody deaths:
- Modified physical characteristics of the facilities to increase safety
- Expanded Narcan availability for more rapid deployment in the event of an overdose in the jail
- Increasing scope of search criteria for contraband
- Expanding law enforcement resources to investigate and hold accountable individuals who introduce contraband in our jails
- Continuing ongoing partnerships with the Multnomah County Corrections Health Department, the Multnomah County Auditor’s Office and Disability Rights Oregon
- Implementing technology solutions, such as providing tablets to all adults in custody. Tablets will provide AICs with educational courses, vocational opportunities, rehabilitative programming, and communication with family and friends and electronic mail
- Evaluating workforce models to best serve the needs of adults in custody and staff placement
MCSO reported that the county medical examiner has determined the manner of death for six of the inmates. One died of acute cocaine poisoning, three of natural causes and two by suicide. The manner of death for the other four in-custody deaths have yet to be finalized, though O'Donnell said in August that early indications suggest some of the deaths may be drug-related.
"Outside of prisons and jails, drug overdose deaths are at historic levels, and the trend of drug use, primarily driven by opioids, including counterfeit fentanyl, is reflected in corrections environments," the sheriff said. "Synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, are dramatically more potent, more addictive and deadlier than heroin or other drugs."
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