Benton County commissioners demand access to sheriff’s department locker room
Benton County commissioners are plotting a locker room takeover.
For five months, county corrections officers have had no access to the locker rooms at the Benton County Justice Center in Kennewick to change before or after their shifts.
Sheriff Jerry Hatcher locked them out when the county commission took over the jail in October.
Hatcher shut the door early on in the takeover because he was concerned about allowing employees he didn’t hire, train or have oversight of to have access to the locker room used by his deputies.
But county commissioners say corrections officers should be allowed to change clothes before heading home so they can protect their families from inmates potentially carrying the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.
The commissioners planned to meet Thursday afternoon in a special meeting to talk about taking control of the locker rooms through the end of the public health emergency.
They also are considering walling off part of the facilities to give jail staff a place to change but without allowing full access into the sheriff’s department.
After some negotiations, Hatcher had previously agreed on a spot for a door, but he has not made any move to allow it, the commissioners said in a Tuesday letter to the Hatcher.
The sheriff could not be reached by the Herald for a comment on the issue.
The public can watch the county’s special 1:30 p.m. meeting online at commissioners.meeting.co.benton.wa.us or listen to it by calling 509-222-2310.
At a meeting earlier this week, Commissioner Jerome Delvin suggesting sending a letter to Hatcher after at least two unanswered emails from jail Chief Scott Souza on March 23 and 24 asking Hatcher to let corrections officers use the locker rooms.
This came after one inmate was placed in quarantine because he had flu-like symptoms, and medical staff had been waiting to have a test available. As of last week, they were still waiting to have a test available.
Jail staff have increased disinfecting commonly touched surfaced and wearing the recommended personal protective equipment, such as masks and gloves.
While they are taking precautions, corrections officers are not able to maintain a 6-foot separation from the inmates at all times.
“We must allow all our staff, sheriff’s office and corrections department alike, the opportunity to change into or out of their work uniforms when coming to work or going home to be with their families,” the commissioners wrote in the letter to Hatcher.
Struggle over the jail
This is the latest battle between the commissioners and the sheriff to move into the public sphere since the commissioners decided 2-1 to take control of the 700-plus bed facility.
Citing concerns about how the jail was being run, the commissioners took control the jail in October. They created the Department of Corrections and put Souza, a former jail commander, back in charge of the facility as the chief of corrections, reporting to the commissioners.
Since then, the commissioners and Hatcher have clashed over whether to allow jail staff to have law enforcement powers inside the justice center, and how much access jail staff could have to the sheriff’s office.
Conflicts about the transfer seemed to die down in recent weeks, and had previously entered negotiations with the sheriff.
In the light of spread of the coronavirus into Benton County, the commissioners said they can’t wait for the sheriff to make the changes.
The commissioners said they have a “duty to oversee county property,” and in light of the public health emergency are going to put in the door in immediately at the spot they previously agreed on.
The locker rooms were built to accommodate sheriff’s deputies and the corrections officers, and can easily be shared, the commissioners said.
“While we understand your concerns regarding who has access to the sheriff’s office and have every intention of keeping these areas as secure as possible,” the commissioners said.
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 12:54 PM.