FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — Understaffed, dangerous and unsupervised: those are some of the words a federal investigator used to describe the ongoing crisis in the Fulton County Jail.
The federal report revealed that most floors of the Rice Street facility have just one deputy or detention officer supervising around 200 detainees.
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Channel 2’s Michael Seiden reviewed that 40-page document filed in federal court late last week. It was part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that monitors tour the jail, which was done in May.
Kathleen Kenney, the lead monitor and author, didn’t hold back when she described the problems happening inside the facility.
Criminal defense attorney Brian Tevis said there was nothing surprising that he saw in the report.
“I’ve had cases myself where clients are attacked by other people, with or without a weapon, multiple people jumping on them,” Tevis said.
Kenney’s report described how most floors in the main jail were staffed with only one deputy or detention officer responsible for approximately 200 residents across six housing zones.
The report also details how inmates have exploited the understaffing to smuggle contraband and create makeshift weapons from the crumbling building infrastructure.
Some weapons are used to burn holes in windows, allowing drones to drop drugs, weapons, and other contraband into the jail undetected.
The report notes that doors do not lock, phones do not work, showers are unsanitary, plumbing fixtures and lights remain unrepaired, and video tablets are broken.
The intake area is described as having holding tanks packed so tightly that people cannot sit or lie down, with many held in these conditions for five to seven days.
County commissioners have approved over $1 billion for improvements, including extra staff, overtime pay, and repairs.
Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat has previously argued for building a new jail instead of renovating the current one. He could not be reached for comment on the report.
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