NAACP Renews Call For Feds To Investigate Arlington Jail After Death

ARLINGTON, VA — The NAACP Arlington Branch on Thursday renewed its call for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an investigation into the Arlington County Detention Center after the death of another person in custody at the facility.

David Gerhard, 55, of Hedgesville, West Virginia, who had been held at the jail since Nov. 20, died early Tuesday. He was the second person to die in the custody of Arlington County jail officials in 2023.

Gerhard’s death comes after Abonesh Woldegeorges, a 73-old-old woman, was found unresponsive in her jail cell on Aug. 27 and was pronounced dead later that day at Virginia Hospital Center.

Nine people have died at the Arlington County jail in the last eight years.

"Unfortunately, we have seen a disregard for basic care at the Arlington County jail, and it will continue to lead to deaths at an alarming rate if the Department of Justice does not intervene," Michael Hemminger, president of the NAACP Arlington Branch, said in a statement Thursday.

Hemminger accused the Arlington County Sheriff’s Office and other county leaders of being “unwilling or unable to properly address” what is causing the deaths.

“The death rate is accelerating and the conditions inside the jail remain inhumane and unsatisfactory,” he said.

The NAACP said it is conducting its own investigation into the deaths at the jail.

Shortly before 8 a.m. on Tuesday, Arlington County police and fire were dispatched to the jail for a report of cardiac arrest. Gerhard was found unresponsive in the medical unit within the Arlington County Detention Facility.

Arlington County Sheriff’s Office deputies and medical staff began immediate resuscitation efforts until the arrival of Arlington County Fire Department medics. He was taken to Virginia Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Gerhard was being held on charges of “failure to comply with support obligations and contempt of court,” according to officials.

When she died, Woldegeorges, who was homeless, had been arrested and charged with trespassing by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority on Aug. 13 and was being held at the Arlington County jail as she waited to be taken to Loudoun County for a "failure to appear" charge related to a prior trespassing incident with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

Woldegeorges was charged with trespassing for using both Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and Dulles International Airport as a place to shelter.

Prior to Woldegeorges's death, Paul Thompson, 41, was the last person to die at the jail. He died on Feb. 1, 2022, and, like Woldegeorges, was being held on a trespassing charge when he died.

After Thompson's death in the jail in 2022, the NAACP Arlington Branch called for a Department of Justice investigation into the detention center.

In response to Woldegeorges's death in August, Hemminger said, "It's unimaginable that a 73-year-old woman being held on trespassing charges would ultimately lose her life while in custody."

RELATED:

• In-Custody Death At Arlington County Jail Investigated
• 73-Year-Old Woman Dies At Arlington County Jail: Police