With the March 1 election date quickly approaching, four of the five candidates campaigning for the position of Chatham County sheriff answered questions from community members on Whitemarsh Island on Sunday.
Kenneth Williamson, retired Col. McArthur Holmes, retired Maj. Kim Middleton and incumbent Sheriff Roy Harris III each explained to the community why they were best suited to fill the unexpired term of late sheriff Al St Lawrence in the special election.
The fifth candidate, retired Col. John T. Wilcher, did not attend the event.
The Valentine’s Day forum was coordinated by Debbie Broderick on behalf of the Concerned Citizens of Chatham County and The Taxed Enough Already Party.
“We try to make our voted-in leaders responsible for their positions, and accountable to us, the public. That’s why we’re here today,” Broderick said. “We want to give the people a voice so they can ask the questions that concern them the most about law enforcement.”
The questions asked by the audience addressed a broad array of issues, including jail accreditation, unincorporated areas, and their primary concern as sheriff. Each candidate had around two minutes to answer each question, and were allowed brief rebuttals if they disagreed with other panel members.
The first question was posed by Savannah realtor Reggie Mitchell.
“The jail has lost its jail accreditation. Do you feel that we need it? If not, why not?”
Williamson: “I think it’s very important for the sheriff’s office to have that accreditation, because, as Col. Holmes said, we’ve had 10 excessive lawsuits. We’ve had four deaths in our jail that weren’t God-created, and that’s unacceptable in our jail. We also have a very hostile environment from what I understand ... We shouldn’t have lost that accreditation, that was terrible.”
Holmes: “I am a firm believer in accreditation, not just any accreditation, but the highest form of accreditation in our field ... How would you feel about going to one of our hospitals and finding out that they are not accredited? Accreditation is the seal of approval that allows the public to know that you hold those experiences, criteria, training and background in order to be part of the best that there is in that particular field.”
Harris: “I have to disagree with my two opponents. We did not lose ACA accreditation, we deliberately withdrew from ACA accreditation. The sheriff made that decision based on several factors. Just being accredited does not make you immune to lawsuits, nor does it protect you in any way from lawsuits, and that’s a nationally known fact. The ACA was costing us $25,000 a year just to do the accreditation.”
Middleton: “I think accreditation is needed, both nationally and state ... What accreditation does is sets standards. It sets standards for everything from food service, the temperature of food, the amount of food served, the sanitation in the jail and the training for the officers ... As sheriff, I would look into not only having our jail accredited, but also having the enforcement bureau accredited.
Retired Savannah resident Tony Wickstead asked the panel about unincorporated areas.
“It seemed there was some discussion not long ago about the city police and Chatham County Sheriff’s Office working together. Where does that stand?”
Williamson: “If I am elected, I’m going to do everything I can to take over the unincorporated areas ... If I’m elected, I’m going to put sheriffs back on the street in those unincorporated areas ... Right now, the city wants to keep those unincorporated areas because it helps their crime statistics look better.”
Holmes: “I think the best strategy is to leave the structure as it is ... When it comes to patrolling the entire community, I think that metro police department at this point is better trained, better equipped to make sure that that level of law enforcement we need to happen as we need it to. It would take the Sheriff’s department 3 to 5 years to get to that level.”
Harris: “That decision is made by the county commissioners and the city of Savannah. They’ve looked at this problem for a good while now ... They represent the people for Chatham County and they’ll make the decision based on the best practices they can come up with.
Middleton: “The Chatham County Sheriff’s office is not a full service sheriff’s office ... We are not trained to do patrol. We are not trained to do crime scene investigation. We are trained to run the jail. New officers work in the jail first, and as their skill increases, they are moved to other departments. What we can do is work with other law enforcement agencies in our county to help deal with their crime problems.”
Melvin Washington, a retired sheriff’s office worker, asked what the candidates would change first.
“What will you do first in the first 90 days of your regime to make the changes that we need to have?”
Middleton: “Mine is already underway, but it is to get rid of Corizon, which is currently the privatized medical agency we’ve been utilizing, they’re gone.
Harris: “The first thing I’m going to do is continue what we’re doing now with the mental health issue. I want to push forward with our program to fix the mental health problems we have in that jail. That is one of our main issues facing us currently.”
Holmes: “There’s very little you can do if you don’t have adequate staffing, so I think the priority is to make sure the people are in place to do the job. There are a lot of things that need to be done but you can’t do them if you don’t have the people to do them.”
Williamson: “What I will do first is hire a good undersheriff. I have a man in mind. He’s got 35 years of experience in law enforcement, he’s a constitutional civil rights attorney. All my people will take constitutional training.”