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Resident urges external probe into sheriff’s office, tells commissioners elderly avoid 911
Summary
During public comment a resident accused the sheriff’s department of corruption and religious favoritism and asked commissioners to request an outside investigation; the chair said requests for external probes come from department heads and the FBI contact is a slow process.
A Columbia County resident used the public-comment period to accuse the sheriff’s office of corruption, to urge commissioners to seek an outside investigation and to say some elderly residents will not call 911 because of fear of the sheriff’s department.
The speaker said she represents the Dayton Citizens Oversight Committee and repeatedly criticized specific department leaders by first name, saying “I’m pushing him out of this county” and that the sheriff’s department had become influenced by religious teachings. She added, “I have elderly people calling me and saying they will not call 911 because of the sheriff’s department.” Those statements were delivered during the public-comment portion of the meeting; no formal complaint outcome was recorded in the meeting minutes.
Members of the public then asked whether the FBI or another outside agency would investigate. A county official said the FBI described the process as “slow” and that department heads must request an outside investigation to bring outside resources into the county. Commissioner remarks in the meeting indicated the commissioners would look into the request: one commissioner said, “I’ll follow-up and look into that.”
The meeting record does not show that the board voted to request an external investigation during the session. The public commenter said she had contacted the FBI and other agencies and planned to pursue the matter through outside channels if local action did not follow.
Ending: Commissioners moved on to the scheduled department-head reports after the public-comment period; county staff later characterized public-record and investigatory requests as a process that requires formal department-head action to trigger outside reviews.
