ST. LOUIS—The Commissioner of Corrections for the city of St. Louis has been placed on leave, a spokesperson for Mayor Tishaura Jones confirmed Wednesday.
Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah stepped away Sept. 19. Tammy Ross is acting in an interim capacity.
The city has not said if Clemons-Abdullah’s absence is a medical or administrative leave, citing city codes. It’s also unclear if she’s being paid during this period.
Her leadership of the department which manages the city’s criminal justice center has been under the spotlight in recent years, as the facility has seen the deaths of at least nine detainees since the fall of 2021.
She started on the job in September 2021.
Advocates for inmates have long complained about conditions at the jail. It was the site of three uprisings among inmates between late 2020 and early 2021 prior to her arrival.
In February 2021, inmates set fires, caused flooding, broke out fourth-floor windows and tossed chairs and other items through the broken glass. A guard also was attacked. Inmates again broke windows and set a fire during another riot in April 2021. A month later, Dale Glass, the embattled director of the jail, resigned.
On Aug. 22, 2023, six detainees were charged with taking a corrections guard hostage. Jones came to Clemons-Abdullah’s defense soon after.
“Commissioner Clemons-Abdullah assumed leadership at the CJC during an especially turbulent time, and under her tenure has overseen major upgrades to the facility - including but not limited to - the jail locks, technology, and nutritional and educational programs. She retains the confidence of the mayor; as is the case with other departments in the city, we inherited broken systems and broken processes. It takes time to repair and upgrade processes and procedures that have been entrenched for decades.”
The Criminal Justice Center has been at the center of contention between the mayor’s office and the Board of Aldermen for years. A law passed in 2021 created the Detention Facility Oversight Board led to a debate over the definition of oversight, and whether it included more of the day-to-day functions or merely to investigate complaints.
More recently, there has been friction over the level of access attorneys and others have had inside the facility. A board bill passed over the summer to codify that access took effect Aug. 31.
This story has been updated. The city of St. Louis initially said Clemons-Abdullah went on leave August 19, 2024 but later said it was September 19, 2024.