A former detainee at Wayne County, Michigan's month-old jail alleged in a lawsuit that the center's "operational and administrative chaos," including staff shortages and computer system stoppages, has led to people getting lost in the system and being held for days after they were ordered released.

Liam West-Campeau, on behalf of himself and a proposed class, said in a complaint filed in Michigan federal court Thursday that he was detained at the new Wayne County Criminal Justice Center unnecessarily for several days after a court ordered his release, alleging the county's policies and practices lead to unreasonable release delays.

In the weeks since its Sept. 3 opening, the facility has been "plagued by operational and administrative chaos," which has led to staffing shortages, lengthy lockdowns, crowded cells, protests, fights and detainee deaths, West-Campeau says.

The complaint alleges the jail's systems are "chronically offline" and staff are unable to reliably track when people are admitted or are supposed to leave the facility.

"Unfortunately, while these issues have brought unwanted attention to problems at the new CJC, there is another long-standing custom and practice that has plagued the operation and administration of Wayne County's jail for years at both the 'old' and 'new' county jails, specifically, the failure to release inmates from custody after the reason for their incarceration has ended," West-Campeau said.

Lauded by Wayne County as a "state-of-the-art facility set to transform the county's criminal justice operations," the new Criminal Justice Center in Detroit can hold about 2,500 adults and minors and has two criminal courtrooms. The 11-acre, five-building project took more than 10 years and cost more than a half-billion dollars.

West-Campeau alleges he was detained Oct. 6 and was ordered to be released Oct. 8, but wasn't actually released until Oct. 14. In the days before he was released, he didn't have access to a phone, he says.

Because of computer issues, the records system was offline and there was no evidence of West-Campeau and others' "whereabouts inside the jail," West-Campeau alleges. Instead, detainees were "tracked" with wristbands with their names handwritten on them, he says, but the information came off his wristband.

Releasing a person from the jail should take no more than four hours, West-Campeau says, and his detainment for six days after a court ordered his release is "unreasonable."

"As a direct and proximate result of these unconstitutional actions, plaintiff and all similarly situated persons have suffered physical, emotional, and economic damages including, but not limited to, deprivation of liberty, physical confinement, loss of earnings, anxiety, embarrassment, and mental anguish," the complaint says.

West-Campeau seeks to represent a class of people who have been detained at the former or new jail since October 2021 whose releases were unnecessarily delayed for five or more days.

The complaint lists one claim of violation of the 14th Amendment for "excessive custody."  

The suit names the county, the chief of jails, the Wayne County sheriff and unidentified workers responsible for the detention process.

"We believe Wayne County's criminal justice system has long been plagued by excessive detention practices, with the new criminal justice center continuing this troubling pattern," attorneys for West-Campeau said in a statement Friday. "Our client, along with others in similar situations, was unlawfully denied timely release in clear violation of his 14th Amendment rights. Those responsible for these excessive detentions must be held accountable. We suspect that many others have experienced similar violations over the years and encourage anyone who believes their rights have been infringed upon to come forward."

Representatives for the county did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.

West-Campeau is represented by Megan A. Bonanni and Kevin M. Carlson of Pitt McGehee Palmer Bonanni & Rivers PC and Dean Elliott of Dean Elliott PLC.

Counsel information for the county defendants was not immediately available Friday.

The case is West-Campeau v. Dunlap et al., case number 2:24-cv-12751, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

--Editing by Linda Voorhis.