By C1 Staff
GRAND RAPIDS, MI — MLive and The Grand Rapids Press have obtained the personnel records of former Kent County corrections officer Jacylynn Rodriguez, but they reveal little about why the guard was fired recently after she was assaulted by an inmate.
The county responded to a Freedom of Information Act request filled by MLive following the dismissal of Rodriguez on Sept. 23.
At the time, Undersheriff Jon Hess said the department conducted an internal affairs investigation following the assault on Rodriguez and as a result, the 24-year-old was no longer employed as a jail guard.
Records released by the department show Rodriguez received a three on a scale of one-to-five in every category on her employee evaluations.
In July of 2012, two months prior to the assault, she was recommended for a pay raise by her superiors.
But when it comes to the time of the assault and after, there are forms requesting and approving leaves of absence and a letter of recognition for Rodriguez and other deputies who testified in the Williams trial dated Aug. 5 and signed by Captain Chuck Dewitt.
In a memo dated Sept. 23, Dewitt informed Rodrguez of her “failure to pass probation.”
“We appreciate your interest in working at the sheriff’s Department,” the memo states. “However, it has been determined that you have not adequately demonstrated some of the attributes and skills deemed essential to be a successful corrections deputy.”
The memo states her employment is immediately terminated and she is told to empty her locker and mailbox and return her badge, uniform and keys.
The personnel files do reveal that Rodriguez had been previously employed by the sheriff’s department as a part-time cadet between August of 2009 and May of 2011.
She quit to work for the Michigan Department of Transportation as a secretary and coordinator, and also worked for three months as an on-call youth specialist for the Kent County Juvenile Detention Center between June and September of 2011.
On her application for the corrections position, Rodriguez explained she quit because she needed steady income.
However, when she applied for the corrections position, the Kent County Human Resources Department did not recommend her for rehire, stating that Rodriguez had not provided the proper two-weeks notice when she quit her previous position with the county.
Left open are questions about whether Rodriguez acted according to protocol when she allowed the inmates to leave their cells, and whether it made sense for Rodriguez to be left as the sole overseer of the area to which she was assigned.
However, Hess said the department does not publicly discuss matters pertaining to jail protocol in order to protect security. For that same reason, the department refused to release the video recording of the assault.
Rodriguez did not wish to comment regarding the incidents.