Sheriff in Georgia promises to pay security company $1.4 million after jail walkouts

By The Associated Press

FILE - Vehicles are parked outside the Fulton County Jail, April 11, 2023, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Kate Brumback, File)[ASSOCIATED PRESS/Kate Brumback]

ATLANTA (AP) — The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday it will send about $1.4 million in electronic payments to a private security company by the end of the week that pulled its staff from the local jail in Georgia.

New York-based Strategic Security Corp. ended its contract with the county in August after it failed to pay money owed and let its officers walk out of the Fulton County Jail in the middle of the day. The company provided about 80 guards.

The Sheriff’s office did not pay the company what it owed in any billing cycle since the start of its contract in 2023, CEO Joseph Sordi told reporters in August. Natalie Ammons, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, said the office did pay some bills in full.

Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat has come under fire from county officials for failing to address dangerous conditions in the Fulton County Jail and for mismanaging funds, including the $146 million to his office allocated this year.

Last year, the Fulton County Board of Commissioners dissolved the sheriff’s inmate welfare fund after learning that money had been used for promotional events and consulting fees. The office said it took several remedial actions, including firing the fund administrator.

In October 2023, the commission rescinded $2.1 million in funding for Georgia-based jail software company Talitrix, which was supposed to provide 1,000 wristbands and monitoring devices to the jail. Only 15 were in use. Talitrix then sued the sheriff’s office over nonpayment.

In Tuesday’s statement, the sheriff’s office said the department is underfunded by the county given its size and mandates. Underfunding has “impacted not only contractual obligations but also critical operational capacities that directly affect public safety and community trust.”

Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts released a statement in August saying that funding for the sheriff’s office and jail increased 66% since 2019, but the sheriff “has consistently failed to demonstrate basic budget management practices.”

Pitts said the sheriff’s office signed the contract with Strategic Security Corp. to provide staffing for watchtowers in the jail without involving the county purchasing department. He said the commissioners allocated $1.3 million for 2024 based on the contract usage and with input from the sheriff’s office.

The office waited until August to tell county management that it had already spent more than $1 million over the budgeted amount, Pitts said.

The commission passed an ordinance in July asking Labat and other constitutional officers to use the county purchasing department’s procurement process when entering new contracts. Labat said he plans to sue the Board of Commissioners, which he says has gone overboard in managing how he spends money.