Two Cleveland County Detention Center administrators resigned this week amid controversy following the deaths of two women in detention custody last month, according to the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputy Chief Scott Sedbrook submitted his resignation letter Wednesday morning. Major Dennis Hansen, another official with the detention center, resigned on Monday. Cleveland County Sheriff Chris Amason accepted these resignations, and Undersheriff Marcus Williams will take over jail operations until a new chief is appointed, CCSO spokesperson Hunter McKee wrote in an email to OU Daily.
McKee did not say if the resignations were connected with the recent deaths of Shannon Hanchett and Kathryn Milano, two inmates who died in the detention center last month.
Hanchett, 38, was found unconscious and not breathing in her cell on Dec. 9, 12 days after she was initially arrested for placing false 911 calls and obstructing an officer. Milano, 66, died on Dec. 20 after suffering a medical emergency in the detention center, according to the CCSO’s report.
Kate Bierman, former Ward 1 Norman City Council member and friend of Hanchett, wrote to OU Daily that she views these resignations as an opportunity to appoint an administrator who takes mental-health-related calls and crises seriously.
“Though we do not know if these resignations are in any way connected to the recent deaths at the jail, this is an opportunity to bring in an administrator who believes, as we do, that expansion of carceral services under the guise of behavioral health’ is not the answer to our community’s mental health needs,” Bierman wrote. “We ask our elected officials … to choose wisely.”
Hanchett’s death, and later the death of Milano, triggered public protests, as friends said Hanchett was experiencing a “mental health crisis” when she was arrested. Several Norman community members spoke at the Cleveland County Commissioner’s and the Norman City Council meetings this week, asking council members and Norman Mayor Larry Heikkila to reexamine how the Norman Police Department and the CCSO address mental health calls.
The group, Justice for Shannon, responded to the resignation on Facebook, writing “Justice takes many forms. This is just one.”
Sedbrook was appointed chief deputy of detention by Amason in January of last year. Sedbrook said in a press release announcing his appointment that he planned to “allow for more accountability” and “change the style of leadership at the detention center.”
This article will be updated as more information becomes available.
