The investigation into alleged misconduct at the Hall County Jail revealed a pattern of sex, lies and something called “fight nights,” all happening while deputies and jailers involved should have been performing other duties, an internal affairs report has determined.
The investigative report, obtained Thursday by AccessWDUN through on open records request, said those involved played truth-or-dare-type games while on the job that resulted in jailers performing oral sex and licking the breasts of co-workers and, in at least one case, intercourse between co-workers, leaving parts of the jail complex understaffed.
The report also detailed so-called “fight nights,” which consisted of deputies wrestling and grabbling with each other. Deputies involved said the exercise was designed to bring officers closer together. On at least one occasion, a supervisor used a Taser on officers in an apparent violation of department and state rules.
No inmates were involved in any of the incidents.
The incidents happened on the night shift at the jail, starting more than a year ago. An internal affairs investigation was launched in mid-November, and Sheriff Gerald Couch announced disciplinary action against eight employees on Nov. 26.
Three jailers and two deputies resigned as a result of the investigation. Jailer Alexis Mitchell and Sgt. Andrew Ondo resigned while they were under investigation. Jailers Dani Colella and Christopher Smith and Deputy Randall Norton all resigned prior to being fired. Lt. Ken Nix, a jail supervisor, retired.
Deputy Daniel Harris was suspended for five days without pay. Jailer Kingston Morris was suspended for two days without pay.
“I cannot and will not tolerate this type of behavior by our personnel,” Couch said when he announced the discipline. “Poor choices have consequences. … As sheriff, I demand exemplary conduct from my employees, to include adherence to the law and our department policy.”
A department spokesman said Thursday that Couch would have no further comment on the matter.
The internal investigation began on Nov. 13 when Mitchell and Colella went to Nix to complain that rumors were circulating around the jail that Mitchell was having sex with Norton. According to the report, she told Nix the rumors were not true.
“Mitchell denied these rumors and said that she wanted the rumors to stop and she did not want anyone to get into trouble,” according to a memo included in the report.
But shortly after the women met with Nix, Norton met with Ondo and confessed that he had, in fact, had sex with Mitchell in the jail’s control room around 4 a.m. on Oct 29. According to the report, the two had intercourse and oral sex for nearly 90 minutes. They positioned themselves under the control room’s surveillance cameras so that they would not be seen on video. The incident happened while Morris was out of the tower conducting inmate headcounts.
Mitchell later admitted the sexual encounter and also said she had oral sex with Harris and Smith.
According to the report, Colella was “initially deceptive” when she told investigators she had not seen any inappropriate behavior. But in a later interview, she conceded that she exposed her breast and may have allowed Smith to lick it.
In his interview with internal affairs, Smith admitted that he and Mitchell had sexual contact, but not intercourse, while on duty. He said all the incidents happened outside the view of security cameras.
Smith and Harris told investigators about the “truth or dare” games that were played. The “dares” included flashing body parts, allowing co-workers to lick body parts and oral sex. Smith said the employees were not concerned about being caught because the supervisors — Ondo and Nix — stayed in their offices during the shift and did not walk the towers.
Smith also told investigators that Ondo liked to hold “fight nights” at the jail. When those happened, Smith said, only one officer was left in the control room and everyone else was pulled away, leaving the towers shorthanded.
The “fight nights” often occurred in the jail’s courtroom, although sometimes it was held in other parts of the facility. Colella said participation was voluntary, not required. But she said she had complained to Nix a year ago that Ondo was tasing people for fun during “fight nights.”
For his part, Ondo said everyone who was tasered did so voluntarily. But the report said Ondo is not certified as a Taser instructor by either the Georgia Police Officer Standards and Training council or the manufacturer. No safety measures were in place during these events, and participants did not sign liability waivers, which is required by Taser.
