County officials begin discussion of Mackey probe options

While no decision was reached Tuesday, Luzerne County Council started broaching how to obtain further review of county prison inmate Shaheen Mackey’s June 2018 death.

Three options were on council’s virtual work session for discussion, with voting scheduled for Sept. 8.

County Manager C. David Pedri proposes hiring Attorney Michael Reed and the Philadelphia-based law firm of Troutman Pepper to complete an outside review of all interactions with Mackey while he was at the county prison and analysis of relevant current and past standard operating procedures and protocols.

Pedri promised to make the completed report public and proposes covering the up-to-$75,000 expense from the county’s reserve fund.

Councilman Walter Griffith suggested two other options:

• Approving a resolution asking county District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis to request a state Attorney General’s Office investigation into Mackey’s death.

The District Attorney’s Office previously concluded in its own internal investigation there were no “criminal acts or wrongdoing by any of the officers involved.” Salavantis has said she stands by that conclusion, and that there was no need to refer the matter to the state Attorney General’s office — but that her office would fully cooperate with any state or federal law enforcement agency that requests to review the facts and conclusions of the original probe.

“A council request may go a long way to initiate that investigation,” Griffith said.

• Creating a county prison investigation committee to review and evaluate the conduct, policies, standard operating procedures and protocols at the facility and examine the circumstances of Mackey’s death.

Griffith’s proposed seven-member committee would include the county controller, three council members and three council-appointed residents.

Council would allocate up to $75,000 in funds as required by the committee, also from the county reserve, to facilitate the committee’s investigation, his resolution says.

The committee’s complete report of findings and expenditures must be submitted to council and be available to the public, Griffith said. He expressed skepticism the Troutman Pepper report would be publicly released.

Several residents expressed support for some type of investigation, according to public comment emails read into the record.

Kimberly Frink-Umbriac said she agrees with the proposal to bring in Troutman Pepper.

“Anyone watching that video knew that he was dead before leaving that prison,” she wrote. “As a woman of color living in Luzerne County I want to be assured that ANY elected official will make sure that everyone receives justice, no matter the color of their skin.”

Elaine Maddon Curry, chairperson of the Hazleton Advisory Council of the state Human Relations Commission, said her organization strongly advises council to “seek a thorough, independent investigation” into Mackey’s death.

“In our opinion, it is the only way that either the Mackey family or the people in our region will find any closure regarding this tragic occurrence,” wrote Maddon Curry, a past county councilwoman.

Francisco Torres-Aranda, a member of the Hazleton Human Relations Committee and the Governors Advisory Commission for Latino Affairs, said an independent investigation is needed to restore community confidence in “this important institution.”

West Pittston resident Ed Motovidlak criticized the district attorney’s decision to not seek a state attorney general’s office investigation and characterized the proposal to hire an outside law firm as a “direct measure to cover up corruption and incompetence.”

“All eyes in America are viewing this case, and we need to make sure this is handled correctly. We do not need more riots and protests,” he wrote.

Council members disagreed about the best approach.

Councilwoman LeeAnn McDermott questioned the need to spend $75,000, saying the prison already revised protocols and received a glowing review by the state in last year’s annual inspection.

County Correctional Services Division Head Mark Rockovich said the prison was fully compliant in the state corrections department inspection but acknowledged the state’s review was probably not as in-depth as the one proposed by Pedri.

Councilman Harry Haas said protocols were improved following Mackey’s death, and he urged the administration to provide more specifics about those changes to the public. He said he does not support the expense.

“I hope that cooler heads will prevail during these difficult times,” he said.

Councilwoman Sheila Saidman said the public is “crying” for more information and that a more detailed explanation is warranted. The public may not trust a report performed by the county, she said.

“I think we just owe them some kind of response,” she said.

Saidman and Councilman Robert Schnee said they don’t believe a county committee has the expertise and experience to assess prison protocols.