Burke adds 2 to jail staff

But sheriff says more steps needed to improve security at downtown facility

Issue promts heated debate among county commissioners, followed by 4-1 vote

Thursday, Feb. 8, 2007

By Marcie Young
Charlotte Observer Staff Writer


MORGANTON - Burke County will hire two new jailers to improve security at the downtown jail in Morganton, but more steps are needed, Sheriff John McDevitt said.

After a heated debate Tuesday, county commissioners approved funding the two new jail positions, along with more money for deputies to work extra shifts at the jail.

Less than a month ago, three inmates escaped from the Burke County jail and severely beat the two guards on duty. The attack, which left one jailer with stitches and staples in his head, prompted commissioners to reconsider staffing and security at the 66-bed facility.

"They took an awful beating, and they could have been killed," Chairman Wayne Abele said.

By last week, all five commissioners had toured the jail, and in a 4-to-1 vote Tuesday, the board approved hiring two additional jailers and paying for deputies to work overtime shifts until the new detention officers are hired.

"We can make do with that," McDevitt said after Tuesday's vote. "We've got to fix it so it's at least safe."

Commissioner Maynard Taylor voted against the motion.

The move, McDevitt said, allows the Sheriff's Office to add a third guard to each nighttime shift, providing more security at the 31-year-old jail. Currently, the jail has eight jailers, or two per shift.

The meeting dissolved into a yelling match after Taylor said he was opposed to approving the hiring of additional guards without a discussion of spending by the Sheriff's Office on other items, such as patrol vehicles.

He began to discuss other spending issues and to present a packet of documents but was stymied by other commissioners, who said the discussion was unrelated to the staffing shortage.

Abele told Taylor to raise the issues with McDevitt later, but Taylor raised his voice and continued to talk about the Sheriff's Office spending.

"If you'd like to have a meeting with the sheriff later, then you can do that," Abele shouted back.

As Taylor continued to talk, Abele pounded his gavel, shouted, "as chairman, I am saying we are not going to continue this" and ordered a 10-minute recess.

When the meeting resumed, commissioner Ruth Ann Suttle asked the board to vote on a motion to hire the jailers.

Still, McDevitt said, the additional positions offer only temporary relief at a jail that is out of date and dangerous. Other top concerns, he said last month, include the need for working security cameras, new doors, an updated key system and a smoke ventilation system.

Abele said commissioners are also seriously looking at ways to improve detention facilities in the county and haven't ruled against building a new jail. The first priority, he said, was to add staff.

"This will be on our minds going forward," Abele said at Tuesday's meeting. "We can't make a hasty decision on the facility."


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