A sweeping lawsuit filed by the ACLU and NAACP alleges a “deadly pattern of abuse” at the Harford County Detention Center, which it says has led to more than 20 suicide attempts since 2019.

The suit — filed against Sheriff Jeff Gahler, Warden Daniel Galbraith, Harford County and the state — says there is deficient screening and treatment at the detention center, “excessive” reliance on isolation, deficient monitoring of those identified as suicidal or needing medical attention, and punishment in response to those who are suicidal.

“A jail’s most basic constitutional obligation is to keep people alive,” said Sonia Kumar, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Maryland, in a news release Wednesday. “Harford County jail has catastrophically failed that duty, repeatedly focusing more on protecting the jail’s reputation than what to do differently to save lives.”

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on the case, as it is still pending.

The suit was jointly filed by the ACLU, NAACP, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Mayer Brown LLP and Charles Morris, who survived a suicide attempt at the dentention center in August 2024. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for Maryland on Tuesday.

The lawsuit says the detention center often places at-risk inmates in a cell with a bunk bed that serves as “makeshift gallows,” and that these individuals should be placed in a cell free from obvious and unnecessary protrusions.

The lawsuit outlines each of 20 suicide attempts in the jail, which are detailed using the facility’s incident reports; however, the suit alleges there are more than 20.

The inmates introduced in the lawsuit were in the jail for charges ranging from trespassing, criminal mischief and theft to rape and assault.

In several examples discussed in the suit, inmates displayed signs of suicidal behavior, including one man who could be seen on video footage practicing his attempt before dying, another who drew graphic pictures of a figure hanging from a tree, and one who disclosed his intent to take his own life.

Other examples in the suit show how inmates on suicide watch were threatened with force, stripped of all clothes or placed in isolation.

In another example, jail officials said a man with a string tied around his neck was “merely trying to manipulate” jail officials and was not actually suicidal, despite concern from medical staff. The man made a second, more serious suicide attempt less than two weeks later, the suit says.

Morris, who is named as a plaintiff, attempted suicide in August 2024 after, the suit alleges, he displayed numerous red flags at intake, such as clear warnings of crisis and vulnerability to self-harm. Morris was not placed on suicide watch and instead placed in 23-hour isolation, where he attempted to take his own life.

Morris was then discovered by a deputy and taken to a hospital, where he was placed in a coma for three days. Galbraith, the warden, allegedly instructed hospital staff to notify Morris’ [family only in the event of brain death, the suit says. Galbraith also assumed the role of decision-maker for medical consents — an unethical and unauthorized decision by Maryland and federal law, the suit says.

Morris was brought into the facility on assault, rape and sex offense charges, but he was acquitted on all counts in Harford County Circuit Court in March 2025.

The Harford County Sheriff’s Office addressed this suicide attempt in an August 2024 release, saying Morris “did not present any indications of trying to harm himself.”

The release also enumerated the number of admissions to the facility, inmates screened for suicide or self-harm, suicide attempts and suicides. The sheriff’s office’s release says the rate of suicide in the detention center mirrored the rate of suicide in Harford County at-large.

“Too often we hear about completed suicides in jails, but we rarely discuss the many inmates with mental health issues whose lives are saved in our facilities. The tireless efforts of our Correctional Deputies to ensure the safety of those in their care often go unnoticed. I want to commend these dedicated professionals for doing an outstanding job in a challenging and frequently thankless role,” Gahler said in the Aug. 16, 2024, release.

In December, the sheriff’s office announced the introduction of medical wristbands for inmates at the detention center. The devices aim to catch medical emergencies faster and are said to improve safety for at-risk inmates.

The ACLU has previously cautioned against using this technology to replace staff, but the sheriff’s office previously told The Baltimore Sun that this technology is an extra tool and “absolutely not” a substitution for staff.

Gahler, Galbraith, Harford County and Maryland have 21 days to respond when the summons is served to them.

“After years of deaths and devastating injuries, the failure to make basic changes has caused immense suffering for our members and their families, many of whom have been in crisis,” said Willie A. Flowers, president of the NAACP’s Central Maryland Region, in the release. “It has also put HCDC staff – who work hard trying to do their jobs – in the horrible position of trying to save lives that should not have been endangered in the first place. We hope the end result of this case is to protect everyone in the community.”

Have a news tip? Contact Brendan Nordstrom at bnordstrom@baltsun.com or at 443-900-1353.