Richmond Sheriff Antionette V. Irving has been asked to appear before City Council’s Public Safety Committee next week.

Shocked by a Free Press report about a mentally ill male inmate’s vicious assault July 7 on a female deputy, the committee chair, 8th District Councilwoman Reva M. Trammell, wants to hear from the sheriff about the “process for securing mentally ill inmates and the safety of other inmates and personnel.”

The attack occurred at the Richmond City Justice Center, as the jail located in Shockoe Valley is called.

If the sheriff appears at the committee meeting next Tuesday, July 26, — and she would be the sole focus of the meeting—this would be her first public statements about the assault, a prime example of the dangers staff and inmates have faced since she took command in 2018.

As has been her practice, the sheriff has issued no statements and has not responded to requests for comment from the Free Press and other media outlets. Nor is it clear that she will appear.

Meanwhile, the inmate alleged to have committed the assault, Sakeem Jamar Bell, reportedly has been transferred to Central State Hospital, while the deputy, who also is keeping mum, has undergone surgery and is home recuperating.

The Free Press has been told the sheriff has advised others, including police officers, that the assault never took place and was so upset when the newspaper disclosed it in the July 14-16 edition that she temporarily barred distribution of the edition to inmates and staff.

The assault, however, illustrates the jail’s deterioration of safety and security.

Since she took office, there have been reports of deputies being knocked unconscious, being punched in the face, being spit on and having human waste thrown at them. According to sources, Sheriff Irving has not allowed deputies to file charges for the assaults.

But it is dangerous for inmates as well, according to federal court filings and information provided from families.

There are reports of at least one mentally ill inmate being sexually abused and of deputies making sexual advances on inmates.

The most serious case involves the stabbing of an inmate, Rashid H.W. Holman, who had to be rushed to a nearby hospital on Feb. 18 of this year.

In his complaint in U.S. District Court, Mr. Holman stated that the inmate who stabbed him had previously stabbed three or four other inmates.

He stated that when he sought to bring charges against the inmate after being returned to the jail, he was blocked and instead was himself charged with “having a sharp weapon, which I did not possess.”

Mr. Holman filed his civil rights complaint on April 20 after the sheriff and other top officials at the jail failed to respond to his complaint.

So far as he is aware, the sheriff never sought prosecution of his attacker. Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette W. McEachin said Wednesday that no information involving the stabbing of Mr. Holman has been referred to her office.