-Hello, [indistinct] office 911.
-Hey, can you guys come to [indistinct] Road?
We got a OD at [indistinct].
Hurry, I think he's about dead.
-Hey! -Fayette County 911.
-I need an ambulance. He was talkin' to me.
I said, "Scott, why are you drivin'?
You're so messed up, man".
And the next thing I know, he started gurglin'
and he's out. -Alright.
I'm gonna transfer you to the police department, okay?
You need to speak with them, okay?
-Over the last 22 years that I've been sheriff,
and even before, when I was a police officer on the street,
we would have the occasion of coming across drug operations.
Now, it's a constant: almost every call is drug-related.
A lot of addictions have been around for a very long time,
but the jail was never the depository for all these folks
and the jail was built, back in the day,
to hold a small number of people, in 1884.
They weren't foreseeing that this jail
would be open for 135 years.
And the demands on the sheriffs, and this is nationwide,
this is not just Fayette County.
They've made us the rehab center.
You know, we detox and then,
they expect us to rehab, as well.
And that's a burden being placed on the counties
that have county jails.
-So, the opiate crisis is a huge challenge for the jail
because, I would say, more inmates than not come in
with some type of withdrawal,
from either fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamines.
So we're tryin' to treat these people in a facility
that's not ideal for detoxing.
-I'm about to blow my brains out because of withdrawal.
That's how fun it is.
Pukin' and poopin', sweatin'. Toss and turn.
Like, the first two days, I barely slept,
maybe two hours a night.
-Is your tooth still bothering you?
Yeah.
And the resources that we have in jail are very limited.
Our exam room is a broom closet.
It's kinda dirty.
I mean, grungy, essentially.
There's no equipment in there.
I mean, I've got a blood pressure machine.
I have an otoscope.
But, other than that, I mean, there's a little table,
like to write on, but there's no exam table
to have somebody set up on so you can listen to 'em.
I mean, it's not ideal at all.
Can you open up, say "Ah"? -Ah.
-A lot of times, I have people, if they're in pain,
or whatever, I mean, I have 'em sit
on my little stool back there, but it's not.
As you can see, it's not ideal.
It's difficult to do a good, thorough exam,
um, here in this space, so.
-I'm good.
-You don't want 'em, your medicine?
-This jail is horrible.
I mean, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it.
It is absolutely horrible.
I mean, there's black mold in the showers.
There's toilets that leak in a lot of the cells.
It's just, it's absolutely horrible.
-You are unbelievable. I told you.
-This is what happens.
-When people come into the jail and they're addicted to opioids
or crack cocaine, methamphetamines,
and they're trying to get help, it's kinda hard
because a lot of the workers here
don't realize exactly what's going on,
like what they're going through.
You have to sign up to see the doctor and it takes up to a week
to be able to see 'em, get withdrawal meds.
A lot of people end up throwing up all over theirselves
and using the bathroom.
I mean, a lotta people poop theirselves.
They have restless legs.
They have bad mood swings.
It's extremely hard to be able to, you know, come into jail,
detox, and be, you know,
get the help that you need because, in Fayette County,
there's not much help that you can get.
-Because the deputy's doin' the nurse's job.
-Jails. -That's why.
-For some people, being in jail
is a lot better than them bein' on the streets or going to rehab
because there's not many rehab choices.
But, when they come to jail, I mean,
it's better than bein' on the streets
and try to do it theirself because, if they're outside
and they try to do it theirself, it maybe lasts a day or two,
but being in jail and having 30 days,
60 days clean, they have more of a chance
of actually staying clean when they get out.
-How old are you, Walker? -I turn 20 this month.
April 21st, I turn 20.
-You been to prison yet? -Yeah.
-The jail has been, I mean, instrumental in.
Even though it's not the best facility to detox,
it's been instrumental in helping us get control
of the problem that we're facing here in Fayette County.
It's a place that we know that we can coordinate services,
so we can try to go in and offer medication,
if they need, to help with their withdrawal.
It's kind of like the first stop that they go to.
It doesn't work for everybody, obviously.
When they get out, we may not be able to bring them over
for any kind of treatment services,
but, at least we kind of know where they're at
and we can coordinate services with the sheriff's department
to get people treatment,
if they want it, when they get released.
-You know I never give you what you want, right?
-We need a new jail.
We should've had a new jail 30 years ago, 50 years ago.
-Can I get some Tylenol? I got a headache.
-If we don't have a new jail, we've gotta do something
to resolve the constant flux of people coming in.
We can't separate the felonies from the misdemeanors, you know,
and the guy sitting in the bunk right beside you is detoxing
and the guy that's in the other bunk
has been here for six months already
and, you know, we need to put them in places
where they can get the services they need
and bring in those services.
And my goal is to bring in these outside services,
providing the needs of the inmates,
and so, when they are released,
they have a network of services available to them
and they're not out there on their own, trying to struggle,
and, hopefully, we'll stop them from coming back in
and recommitting violations of probation
or committing new crimes.
They'll have a network of services out there
that they can take advantage of.
-Alright, I'll see ya, bud. -Thanks, buddy.
Man, that breeze feels nice.