Fulton sheriff, Atlanta Citizen Review Board split on inmate access

ATLANTA — Amid a series of unrelated events at the Fulton County Jail, from an inmate tunneling through a wall to stab another and an investigation into conditions at the jail after the death of an inmate allegedly due to bed bugs, and a recent audit of conditions at the jail showing problems down to the plumbing, Sheriff Patrick Labat is now also facing conflict with the Atlanta Citizen Review Board.

The ACRB is alleging that the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office has shifted gears in its policies on inmate access for the review board, citing the sheriff’s new requirements that ACRB investigators receive inmate attorney permission or a judge’s warrant to speak with inmates.

The ACRB, put together in 2008 and charged with reviewing allegations of officer misconduct, is alleging that the shift in policy will prevent the organization from performing its duties.

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While the ACRB said the change “is troubling,” they initially stated an intent to find a resolution that would work for both ACRB and FCSO.

However, Labat said in a written response to ACRB, obtained by Channel 2 Action News, that rather than changing policy and encumbering the process, the changes were a result of an ACRB investigator entering the jail without proper announcement.

According to the sheriff, the issue stems from “an ACRB investigator making one unannounced visit. Because jail staff was not familiar with the individual, jail staff informed the investigator that access would be granted once the ACRB coordinated its interviews with the subject inmate’s criminal defense attorney.”

“Like everyone, Fulton County inmates have constitutional rights against self-incrimination, which Sheriff Labat seeks to uphold,” the sheriff’s statement continued.

To keep the process functional without impeding inmates’ rights, Labat said the policy to access those in custody had been updated to “guarantee the preservation of those rights.”

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Instead, ACRB said Labat had not sent a copy of the letter to the organization, stating that they’d read a copy of it obtained by a news organization.

Additionally, ACRB alleged that not only had Labat not sent the letter to them, but his statements to the media were “false” and were “an attempt to undermine the agency’s integrity.”

They pushed back on the claims by Labat that an ACRB investigator had conducted an unannounced visit, saying that as an organization, it “does not conduct unannounced visits to jail facilities and did not attempt an unannounced visit as referenced in Sheriff Labat’s letter. The work of the ACRB is too serious to be embroiled in playing games that impact our ability to serve the citizens of Atlanta with the best civilian oversight.”

Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the sheriff’s office for their response to the allegations by ACRB. We are awaiting their response.

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