By James Allen
Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Minn.
MINNEAPOLIS — A former inmate at the Otter Tail County Detention Center has dismissed his lawsuit against the county for extreme, punitive treatment in violation of his constitutional rights in the interest of a settlement.
In a press release from the Minnesota division of the American Civil Liberties Union ( ACLU ), it was announced that the Otter Tail County Jail and Otter Tail County Jail staff pursuant to a settlement agreement in which Otter Tail County has agreed to “implement policy changes to protect against the type of unlawful punishment and torture Kettle endured.”
According to the release, in the settlement, the county has agreed to pay Kettle $200,000. The jail also agreed to multiple changes to policies and procedures, including:
- No longer “rolling over” disciplinary segregation time that remains at the time a person is released or transferred from the jail to the next time the person is booked into the Otter Tail County Jail.
- Requiring that, regardless of tenure or rank, correctional officers must report and document when another correctional officer withholds food or water as a disciplinary measure.
- Requiring that correctional officers conduct meaningful welfare checks in which they will assess and report whether, for each incarcerated person, they actually could see the person through the window on their door; they observed signs of life; they observed mental health concerns; the person’s safety is compromised by biohazard material; and the person has access to water.
Norton Rose Fulbright Partner Andy Crowder, who represented Kettle in the case, gave the following statement to the media.
“Ramsey Kettle was subjected to conditions that no human being — incarcerated or not — should ever be forced to survive. This case is about accountability and the recognition that constitutional rights do not stop at a prison door. We are proud to stand alongside the ACLU-MN in this effort and remain committed to ensuring that what happened here never happens again, to Mr. Kettle or anyone else.”
Court documents detailed that when the suit was brought forward in December 2024, abuse was carried out by 11 different correctional officers, including two acting sergeants. Additionally, the acting jail administrator at the time expressly approved of withholding food and water from Kettle as punishment, with staff not feeding him for nearly 60 hours, turning off the water to his cell. Staff and administration mocked Kettle, laughed at him, left him to suffer and knowingly and intentionally took action to punish Kettle, per court records.
In the original complaint, the county, including the jail administrator and various correctional officers took steps to cover up intentional wrongdoing by filing falsified documents and failing to document actions.
Daily Journal Media reached out to OTC Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons for comment, but was unable to make contact with him upon the announcement of the settlement, receiving an email stating that Fitzgibbons is out of office at this time.
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