ACLU files lawsuit over alleged mistreatment of Otter Tail County inmate

A lawsuit filed in federal court alleging Otter Tail County Jail staff deprived an inmate of basic human needs and subjected him to “extreme, punitive treatment.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota filed the civil complaint last week against Otter Tail County Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons and others. They say Ramsey Kettle was kept in solitary confinement for days without appropriate medical and mental health care back in February.

Among other claims, the ACLU accuses jail staff of depriving Kettle of his constitutional right to due process and violating the Americans with Disabilities Act and Rehabilitation Act.

A report from the Minnesota Department of Corrections shows Kettle was denied food for more than 50 hours as punishment for throwing and smearing feces on his cell door. The report also says officers turned off the water to his cell, leaving him unable to flush his toilet or drink water from the sink.

Jail staff said they didn’t offer food because it wasn’t safe.

In March, the DOC put the jail’s license on conditional status and ordered it to rehouse inmates after being notified of the misconduct.

“We must never allow ourselves to be fooled into judging whether we are living up to our constitutional promises by evaluating how we treat those with the most rights and privileges. Our constitution is tested by how we treat those on the margins, with the fewest rights, when no one is looking. And this was a total failure for which Otter Tail County and its officers must be held accountable,” ACLU-MN staff attorney Catherine Ahlin-Halverson said in a statement. “No one — no matter what brings them to be housed in a county jail or other carceral facility — deserves to be deprived of the most basic of our human needs.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to the county and the sheriff’s office for comment and is waiting to hear back.