Sheriff accused of ‘secretly’ recording jail detainees in holding cell bathrooms
A federal class-action lawsuit filed Wednesday accuses the Cook County sheriff and his office of violating tens of thousands of pre-trial detainees’ privacy with surveillance cameras that allow deputies to watch them using toilets inside holding cells.
“I didn’t know they could see everything,” Michelle Urrutia, one of the lead plaintiffs, said at a press conference announcing the suit.
Attorney Thomas Zimmerman says the cameras are “hidden” in holding cells at 10 courthouse locations across the county so deputies can “secretly monitor in real time” detainees, including when they use the bathroom.
