By Jozsef Papp
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Clayton County Sheriff Levon Allen filed a lawsuit against county commissioners over budget constraints he says are impacting the way his office operates, including his management of the county jail.
Allen is following the footsteps of Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams and Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat, who are also trying the courts as an avenue for getting their way in budget fights.
In the lawsuit filed Tuesday in Clayton County, Allen is seeking a court order prohibiting the board of commissioners from restricting how Allen allocates and manages his funds from the county budget, as well as an order to adequately fund the Clayton County jail. He said the budgetary restrictions placed by the board prevent him from carrying out his duties as sheriff.
“My foremost concern remains the safety of my officers, the inmates in my custody, and the citizens of Clayton County. Without adequate funding and staffing, I cannot lawfully or safely discharge my duties as Sheriff,” Allen said in a court filing.
The Clayton County Board of Commissioners did not immediately respond to a request for comment by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
In the lawsuit, Allen outlines several instances in which he said he asked the board for millions of additional dollars to hire employees and improve conditions at the jail but was denied.
“The sheriff has spent quite a bit of time trying to find any other way to get this situation resolved short of litigation, and unfortunately, none of those avenues have worked,” Allen’s attorney, Scott Grubman, told the AJC.
The Clayton County Detention Center, which was built in 2000, is severely understaffed and overcrowded, according to the suit. Originally designed to house around 1,535 inmates, it often houses 2,000 inmates on a regular basis, which means as many as 500 incarcerated individuals end up sleeping on the floor.
The sheriff’s office has just 123 correctional officers at the jail, a number that has not increased since 2006, according to an affidavit signed by Allen.
“The staffing issue is not due to a lack of qualified applicants; there is a waiting list of qualified applicants,“ Allen said in court documents. ”The staffing issue is primarily due to the lack of correctional officer positions in the budget.”
An independent assessment of the jail, completed in May and paid for by the board, found severe understaffing, deteriorating jail conditions and inadequate medical and housing space. Allen claims he has raised the same issues with commissioners on multiple occasions.
Grubman said the jail is in “dire condition” and hopes the community understands that Allen was out of options when filing the lawsuit.
“The sheriff can only do so much,” Grubman said. “The folks on the county commission control the purse strings, and if they are not willing to put the proper funding where it needs to be, then the sheriff’s hands are tied.”
Earlier this year, Allen blamed the agency’s decades-old technology and poor training for the mistaken release of a man convicted of killing his girlfriend, which prompted Clayton District Attorney Tasha Mosley to express frustrations over the lack of communication and accountability from the Clayton sheriff’s office.
In June, county commissioners voted to cut close to 40 staffing positions and $5 million from inmate medical care, which prompted Allen to send a series of text messages to Clayton County residents through the Nixle Alert system, an app used to alert residents in real time about local emergencies and events, announcing his intention to file the lawsuit.
The cuts to Allen’s and other county departments were part of a budget amendment proposed by County Chairwoman Alieka Anderson-Henry, who has been critical of Allen’s spending.
Allen is popular in Clayton County, having won reelection in 2024. He was picked as interim sheriff in 2023 after the prior leader, Victor Hill , was convicted and ultimately imprisoned for a litany of abuses, including strapping prisoners to chairs.
Hill is Allen’s godfather, although the two are reportedly estranged and Hill has publicly criticized Allen’s work as sheriff. Allen is married to Tashe’ Allen, who serves as District 3 commissioner, meaning when his department makes requests for additional funding, his wife is among those who vote on it.
Tashe’ Allen abstained from the June vote. When asked during a commissioners’ meeting to state her reason from abstaining, Tashe’ Allen sat silently for several seconds before saying, “That is my reason.”
Grubman said the fact Allen’s wife is in the commission shouldn’t create any problems considering the lawsuit is against the commission as a whole and not individual members.
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