Autauga County sheriff responds to lawsuit dismissal, commission criticism

AUTAUGA COUNTY, Ala. (WSFA) - As renovations come to a close for the Autauga County Jail, the sheriff and county commission remain at odds.

A lawsuit filed by Sheriff Mark Harrell against the commission- that in part alleged the commission had failed to properly remediate mold in the jail- was recently dismissed with prejudice.

The mold was the cause for the jail being evacuated in June of 2024, meaning inmates had to be housed at other county jails including that of Blount, Cullman, Lowndes, and Russell counties according to court documents.

In a recent statement praising the court’s decision, the county commission called the evacuation “rushed” and “unnecessary,” and that “at the time of the evacuation, no (mold) testing had taken place.”

The commission added that the evacuation happened on the day mold testing was initially scheduled, and since the jail has been closed it has cost county taxpayers around $3 million to house inmates elsewhere.

Harrell believes that he made the right choice, saying the need for evacuation was even more immediate because the air conditioning was turned off due to the mold.

“Closing the jail was something that I stand by, and I sleep good knowing I did that,” Harrell said. “The safety of those people having the air conditioner shut down, you’re in a closed space, they’re breathing in all this mold,” he continued. “90% of the people that are put in jail are not convicted of anything, so if we’re not protecting those people while they’re in there, then I’m not doing my job.”

The sheriff says he “understood coming to a close” that the lawsuit would likely be dismissed, because after he hired an attorney, he says significant renovations have been made and there is a “night and day” difference in the facility. However, he does still believe the work isn’t complete and some mold issues remain.

According to the commission’s statement, on Feb. 4 architects provided notice to the County Commission that the jail project was ready to be turned over to the county for use by the sheriff to be re-populated.

The commission added “Though the jail has been cleared by professional inspections for the safe return of inmates and staff, to date, Harrell continues to be theatrical, rather than practical and effective, as he has yet to provide the County Commission with any plan which describes a process to re-occupy the jail.”

Harrell tells WSFA that he expects the jail to re-open sometime in March once orders for items like bedding are fulfilled.

The other two issues the lawsuit raised were adequate funding for courtroom security and funding the sheriff’s office comparably to other similar departments across Alabama.

Those claims were also dismissed, with the ruling stating that “the undisputed evidence shows that the Autauga County Commission funded the Sheriff’s Office and jail in an amount of approximately $10 million, constituting more than half of the County’s General Fund budget. The Plaintiff failed to present substantial evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact that his office was inadequately funded.”

The commission also alleges that the sheriff requested an “82% pay increase,” which Harrell says is a misunderstanding.

“The 82% raise was just unbelievable that they brought up,” Harrell said. “I asked for a raise myself, but that raise was not an 82% raise. I just asked not knowing and still not believing that someone in Autauga County that works for the county commission or government would make $160,000 a year, so when that was brought to my attention when I asked for a sheriff’s adjustment to my raise, I thought that anybody that was an elected official in Autauga County should make more than a non-elected official,” he continued. “That’s when it was brought to my attention that in order for my raise to be equivalent to someone that’s not elected in this county, that would be 160-something-thousand-dollars and that blew my mind that we would be paying someone that much money.”

Despite the rift, Harrell says he wants to repair his relationship with the commission to better serve constituents.

“I just ask them to put things aside, let’s work for the people and citizens of Autauga County because we can’t do it butting heads or doing a 2-page long ‘I hate the sheriff’ letter,” he said.

We have reached out to the Autauga County Commission for further comment, and so far, have not heard back.

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