Residents and corrections staff press Shelby County commissioners on jail conditions, hazard pay

Several residents and corrections employees told the Shelby County Commission that conditions at the downtown detention center are unsafe and inhumane, and asked for immediate action. Laramie Wheeler, an advocacy coordinator with Just City, read a letter from an incarcerated person that described mold, nonworking smoke detectors, flooding, pests and infrequent grievance responses. "The jail is so old that the building is inhumane and very dangerous to house inmates," Wheeler said, citing Tennessee statutes requiring cleanliness and basic services.

Corrections employees also urged action on compensation. Jeremiah Trundle, who identified himself as a Shelby County Sheriff's Office employee, described daily exposure to biohazards and assaults and urged hazard pay parity with other correctional occupations: "We are required to work inside of the quarantine and isolation pods," he said, listing medical emergencies, fires and other emergency codes the staff respond to. Alicia Lindsey, chief administrative officer for the sheriff’s office, told commissioners the department considers the entire jail hazardous and that hazardous‑pay funding had not been added to the sheriff’s budget to date; she said the sheriff's office could produce cost calculations on request.

Commissioners echoed concerns and discussed prior legislative efforts to fund a new facility and the limits of county authority. Several commissioners urged continued advocacy to state lawmakers and asked for concrete financial estimates and possible interim fixes to infrastructure and staffing. The commission did not take an immediate funding vote on the record but invited further briefings and asked administration and sheriff’s staff to provide cost figures and options ahead of budget deliberations.