Clock is ticking on public records requests submitted to the Lee County Sheriff's Office

Editorial by Drew Smith

Republican candidate for Lee County Sheriff Cam Hunt personally hand delivered several public records requests to the Lee County Sheriff's Office on February 19th. On March 6th the LCSO issued a written response acknowledging receipt of the requests and invoked a 45 business day extension as permitted under Alabama law. In a public statement released by the LCSO in regards to the records requests, the requests were characterized as large in scope and requiring a significant amount of time to gather and review.

This characterization by the LCSO and their invocation of the 45 day extension for compliance stands in stark contrast to the fact that these requests involve public records from recent years that should already exist within standard reporting and financial systems that are expected to be maintained by the agency.

So what's the holdup? Instead of voters being able to review these public records in order to better inform themselves before the May 19th GOP primary between incumbent Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones and his opponent Cam Hunt they are left wondering why they don't have access to those details to begin with. Transparency and accountability be damned, citizens can only wait on the LCSO to comply and ponder why they can't view these records in time for the primary.

In the interest of full disclosure, listed below is a summation of the public records requested by Hunt.

Concealed Carry Permit revenue and expenditures 1/1/15 - present

• Public records related to concealed carry permits issued by the LCSO

• Total number of permits issued for each year

• Total gross revenue from permit fees for each year

• Statutory allegation or distribution of those funds

• How funds were expended for each year; transfers to specific accounts or funds, equipment purchases, training expenditures, personnel related expenditures, any other operational or administrative uses

• ID of the fund or account into which permit revenues are deposited and the year end balance of that fund for each year

TR810 tablets provided to inmates at the Lee County Detention Center and related revenue

• Covers the entire period from the date the tablet program was first implemented through present

• Total number currently in use and for each year

• Copies of all contracts, service agreements, amendments, renewals or memoranda of understanding between LCSO and vendor(s) providing tablets and related services

• Documentation of all revenue generated through tablet program including messaging, email, video visitation, music, media downloads and any other paid services

• Documentation of how funds distributed; percentage retained by vendor, percentage/amount received by LCSO or detention center, specific fund or account into which monies deposited

• Annual totals of gross revenue generated by program and net amounts received by LCSO or detention center for each year since beginning of program

Jail use of force incidents 1/1/21 - present

• Total number of use of force incidents for each year

• Breakdown by category such as physical control techniques, chemical agents, electronic control devices, impact weapons

• Documentation related to whether incidents were reviewed internally and final determination as to whether they were within policy or out of policy

• Copies of use of force policy documentation for each year

Equipment and vehicle purchases 1/1/15 - present

• All vehicles purchased, leased or otherwise acquired

• Year, make and model, date of acquisition, purchase price or lease cost, funding source such as general fund, grant and forfeiture funds for said vehicles

• Equipment purchases; firearms and related equipment, body armor, body cameras and in car camera systems, radios and communication equipment, computer hardware, tablets or mobile data terminals, tactical equipment, jail equipment and security systems

• For each purchase; date of purchase, vendor, description of item, total cost and funding source

• Copies of purchase orders, invoices, contracts or bid documents for equipment

• Documents of grants, asset forfeiture funds or other restricted funds used for equipment

Lawsuits and claims involving LCSO operations 1/1/15 - present

• List of civil lawsuits from actions, policies or operations of the LCSO or detention center including those naming the Sheriff in his official capacity, LCSO deputies or LCSO employees acting within the scope of their employment or the county commission related to LCSO or jail operations

• For each lawsuit documentation of; case name and court, date filed, general category of claim and current case status

• Documentation of settlements, judgements or payments made related to lawsuits including amount paid and funding source.

• ID of any liability insurance policies covering LCSO operations and annual premiums paid

Inmate deaths and serious injuries 1/1/10 - present

• Total number of inmate deaths for each year; date of occurrence, cause of death and whether death investigation was referred to an outside agency

• Total number of serious inmate injuries for each year; whether reviewed internally and outcome of review such as if it was within policy or corrective action taken if not

• Copies of policies governing in custody death investigations, medical emergency response, suicide prevention and use of force reporting related to injuries

Inmate Welfare Fund 1/1/15 - present

• Public records related to IWF, jail fund or any account funded through inmate generated revenue

• Annual beginning and ending balances of IWF for each year

• All deposits into fund including source of revenue

• All expenditures from fund for each year; date, amount, vendor/recipient and general description

• Policies governing administration and permitted uses of IWF

• ID of individual or position responsible for oversight and authorization of expenditures from IWF

GPS tracking units installed in LCSO vehicles and Verizon contract since program beginning to present

• Total number of Verizon GPS units owned, leased or otherwise deployed including total currently in service

• Copies of all contracts, service agreements, amendments, renewals, extensions, purchase orders, invoices and billing statements between the LCSO and Verizon related to the GPS tracking units

• Monthly and annual amounts paid to Verizon for GPS tracking units for each year

• Date of beginning of GPS tracking units program and any changes in scope, pricing or number of units over time