Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin
After an internal investigation four officers are facing disciplinary actions.
One transport officer responsible for clearing the area where Williams was being held will receive three days suspension without pay for failure to perform his duties and negligence that allowed a prisoner to escape.
Additionally, those whose job is to do counts at the jail will receive reprimands and more. One officer will receive a write up in their file and an additional six months on probation, one correction officer will receive a write up and verbal counseling and a third officer will receive two days suspension without pay and a written reprimand.
Two transport officers carried seven inmates to the jail following court.
Multiple headcounts were made, all noting the inmate was absent.
No action was taken concerning the missing inmate, nor were supervisors notified.
At approximately 5:45 a.m., Feb 8, the inmate was found outside the Justice Center by K-9 officers that were there for training.
Williams was then transported back to the jail where he was checked out by medical staff.
Partin said as a result of the oversights, several updated standard procedures will be implemented on how the jail tracks inmates.
A new tracking sheet has been developed and is being used for the transportation and movement of inmates.
According to the sheriff, the department is looking at purchasing a barcode system similar to what hospitals use to track patients to log their movements.
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