Janis Mensah is the former vice-chair of the St. Louis Detention Facilities Oversight Board, and is scheduled to go on trial next month for charges stemming from a 2023 arrest at the City Justice Center. Mensah says police beat them unconscious while waiting to see a detainee, but police say Mensah ignored orders and refused to leave.

Mensah spoke with STLPR’s Lacretia Wimbley about the need for greater transparency at the jail, where 19 detainees have died since 2020.