NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman said he’s made “substantial strides” in running the Orleans Parish Jail and will not turn over control to another party after the U.S. Justice Department and a group of inmates filed a motion Monday seeking to remove Gusman as head of the jail.

The MacArthur Justice Center and the U.S. Justice Department maintain in court documents that Gusman has failed to deliver on the conditions of a 2013 consent agreement mandating improvements at the jail – including security, medical care, mental health care, sanitation and other issues.

“The sheriff not only has failed or refused to comply with the consent judgment, he has proven to be incapable of taking action necessary to comply,” attorneys said in court documents.

They cite an “epidemic of violence” as one reason why U.S. District Judge Lance Africk should take “extraordinary” action and hold Gusman in contempt.

Gusman responded with a prepared statement late Monday afternoon, countering that the 61-page motion is inaccurate and misleading.

“I will aggressively defend the work of the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office and the progress being made,” Gusman said in the prepared statement.

The justice department and the MacArthur center, which filed the motion on behalf of a group of inmates at the jail, argue that suicides are still a problem at the jail, despite a new facility that opened in September.

Attorneys said Gusman was aware of the suicide risks a month before inmate Cleveland Tumblin, a 61-year-old boxing instructor, hanged himself in a shower stall that was locked from the inside.

Gusman, meanwhile, said he has no intention of stepping down.

“We recognize that there is more work to be done but will not allow this move by the plaintiffs to undermine the accomplishments and sacrifices of the hard working deputies and staff,” he said.