Allegheny County Council proposes deputies guard incarcerated people during medical visits
September 08, 2026
TribLive: “A proposal before Allegheny County Council would require sheriff’s deputies to be responsible for both transporting incarcerated people to and from hospitals and maintaining custody of them throughout their medical treatment.
The proposal was introduced Tuesday, just weeks after Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus barred deputies from guarding incarcerated people taken to hospitals from Allegheny County Jail.
The legislation was sponsored by council members Bethany Hallam, D-North Side, Pat Catena, D-Carnegie, and Alex Rose, I-Squirrel Hill. Hallam, like Rose an at-large member, is also a member of the Jail Oversight Board….
Tanisha Long, a Crafton Heights resident and organizer for the Abolitionist Law Center, said she believes the legislation is “common sense.”
“I exist with the belief in the fundamental human right to care and medical care and having their needs met. I believe that the people in the Allegheny County Jail are no different than us in that they deserve the right to be able to go to the hospital,” Long said.”