Fulton County Jail guards left their posts after the third-party contractor that placed them failed to receive payment, officials said.
Sheriff Patrick Labat said during an evening news conference outside the jail on Rice Street that funding deficits meant the county was unable to pay nearly $1 million to Strategic Security. Guards contracted via the company were told around 2 p.m. to “vacate their jobs” and not to return to work in the evening, he added.
“Given the funding deficit, our inability to, as a county, pay the actual ... expenses, the company made a decision ... that they would pull out,” Labat confirmed.
The sheriff’s office has faced increased scrutiny in the past year due to issues at the jail, including its condition, several inmate deaths, and the influx of contraband into the facility. Since July of last year, the jail has been under investigation by the Department of Justice.
Strategic Security said in a news release that it has met and corresponded with the offices of the sheriff, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners and Gov. Brian Kemp but that none proposed a solution. The company said it had received “no timeline for payment or good faith.”
“This action is taken with a heavy heart, as it creates a potential officer safety issue and crisis at the facility,” the news release said. “The continued non-payment has left us with no choice but to take this difficult step to protect the interests of our company and our employees.”
Labat said he would try to hire guards who had worked for the private company to fill vacancies in his department. He said he aimed to hire about 50 of the contracted guards, and would offer them a 10% pay increase and other benefits.
“We are focusing on hiring at a security officer specialist position, which is equivalent to what they actually left as after being told to leave,” he said.
Strategic Security’s website says the company provides security guards and intelligence, consulting and investigation services. Labat said the county would eventually pay the $1 million but did not provide a timeline.
“We will get there, we just weren’t going to be able to get there as quickly as they liked,” he confirmed.
A civil rights investigation by the DOJ was launched at the Fulton jail after the September 2022 death of Lashawn Thompson, who was found in his cell covered with bed bugs. Between 2009 and October 2022, more than 60 Fulton detainees died—the highest total for any jail in Georgia during that period, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution found. There were 10 deaths in the custody of the sheriff’s office in 2023.
Issues at the jail extend beyond inmate deaths. Just last week, four women employed by Strategic Security were charged with various offenses, including sexual contact with inmates and providing inmates with cellphones, according to the sheriff’s office. Labat stated in a press release that the women were on “the wrong side of the law by fraternizing with residents they were entrusted with watching over.”
Shortly after Thursday’s press conference outside the jail, the sheriff’s office announced the arrests of a former nurse contractor and a detention officer. Officials said former jail nurse Juanita Calloway was dismissed in 2023 due to an “inappropriate relationship with a resident.” An investigation continued, eventually uncovering a conspiracy involving cell phones between Calloway and Sgt. Lorna Heath, according to the sheriff’s office. Both are charged with possession of prohibited items by inmates, among other offenses.
Labat has claimed that part of the problem is due to the facility’s crumbling conditions and overcrowding. The jail has a capacity of 2,254 inmates, and Labat said he has managed to reduce the population to about 2,400, down from 3,700 detainees when he first took office.
The sheriff has advocated for the county to fund the building of a new jail. But Fulton commissioners voted to issue a new request for proposals to plan renovations instead.
— Please return to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution for updates.
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