Top jail staff forced out after Black man dies in custody

Three top jail staffers are now off the job following the request of a Georgia sheriff who noted that “sweeping changes” are being implemented as investigators work to determine what caused a Black man’s death at the facility last year.

Without identifying them, a Monday statement from the sheriff’s office said the chief jailer and two assistant chief jailers at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail sent in their resignations at the request of Sheriff Patrick “Pat” Labat, according to CNN.

The decision comes as officials investigate the death of Lashawn Thompson, whose relatives claimed he was being detained in a filthy, bug-infested jail cell when he died in September.

Lashawn Thompson (above) was held in the psychiatric ward at Atlanta’s Fulton County Jail for about three months before he died, said family attorney Michael Harper, who shared images (left and right) he said showed the cell’s “deplorable” conditions. Top jail officials were forced out this week over Thompson’s death. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/11Alive News)

“It’s clear to me,” Labat said in the statement, CNN reported, “that it’s time, past time, to clean house.”

Labat reportedly requested the resignations of the correctional staff after evaluating the initial data acquired during the internal probe. 

“Collectively, the executive team that’s been in place has more than 65 years of jail administration and law enforcement experience,” the statement read, CNN reported. It went on to say such experience, “can be invaluable” at its best. “However, it can also lend itself to complacency, stagnation & settling for the status quo.”

Family attorney Michael Harper said Thompson was incarcerated on a misdemeanor assault charge for about three months before his death, confined to the psychiatric ward because of mental health difficulties.

Thompson’s family attributed his death to unhygienic conditions at the jail and problems from insect bites. In addition to a criminal investigation, Thompson’s family wants to see a new facility constructed.

“The cell he was in was not fit for a diseased animal,” Harper said during a news conference last week as he showed photos depicting the conditions of Thompson’s cell, CNN reported. “This is inexcusable, and it’s deplorable.”

In a Thursday statement, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said the county medical examiner listed Thompson’s manner and cause of death as “undetermined.”

However, inquiries by the Atlanta Police Department, which was the responding agency, and the internal Office of Professional Standards are ongoing. The results will be submitted to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations for review.

Thompson’s health — “or what decisions he made regarding his right to accept or refuse medical care” when he was arrested — could not be disclosed by the sheriff’s office due to health privacy laws, their statement added.

Still, authorities said they are examining their legal options for switching medical vendors and contracting with a company that can “effectively, consistently, and compassionately deliver the best standard of care.”

On Friday, the office said it has already started taking action, including spending $500,000 “to address the infestation of bed bugs, lice, and other vermin” within Fulton County Jail. There’s also a procedure to relocate over 600 prisoners to other counties “at an average cost of about $40K [per] day” to relieve overcrowding.

Thompson’s brother, Brad McCrae, shared that the 35-year-old was born in Winter Haven, Florida, and had resided in Atlanta intermittently. 

McCrae was at the press conference last week alongside Harper, the family attorney, where a reporter asked him what he thought of the pictures showing his brother’s body and the conditions of his cell.

“It was heartbreaking because nobody should be seen like that,” McCrae said, CNN reported. “Nobody should see that. But the first thing that entered my mind was Emmett Till.”

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