Sheriff Labat told council members the decision is out of his hands but that the sheriff’s office remains committed to transparency. Any and all representations to the contrary, are disingenuous at best." At no time was the ACRB denied access to Fulton County inmates. Thereafter, ACRB made no attempt to contact the Sheriff’s Office. "To remove any possibility of violation of these fundamental rights, Sheriff Labat’s staff requested that the investigators facilitate their interviews in a manner that guaranteed the preservation of those rights. Like everyone, Fulton County inmates have constitutional rights against self-incrimination, which Sheriff Labat seeks to uphold. Rather, upon receiving one unannounced visit from an ACRB investigator, and because jail staff was not familiar with the individual, jail staff informed the investigator that access would be granted when the ACRB coordinated their interviews with the subject inmate’s criminal defense attorney. "Contrary to the Atlanta Citizen’s Review Board’s (ACRB) allegations, the FCSO has not interfered with their ability to interview Fulton County inmates. Sheriff Labat rebutted saying the policy change was the county attorney’s call and a matter of protecting the rights of inmates whose attorneys complained about not being notified.Ī statement from the sheriff’s office reads: In a letter sent to Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat last week, the board called the change "troubling". "We’re still trying to figure out what made that change occur," Reid said. This, after Reid said his investigators were told they couldn’t interview four complainants at the Atlanta City Jail and informed for the first time in more than a decade they’d need to take the extra step of getting a court order or "OK" from a complainant’s attorney to do so. "We’re all concerned for transparency and the ability for citizens to have their complaints addressed," Reid said. Members of the Atlanta Citizen Review Board, tasked with investigating complaints against Atlanta police and corrections officers, sounded the alarm on accountability at the sheriff’s office.
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