Three inmates have been bringing the entire security plan in Dickson's Municipal Court front and center.
Police said they stole whiskey from an evidence locker and got too drunk to make their court appearance. The three were identified as 28-year-old Leonard H. Beard, Jr., 24-year-old Timothy J. Cederoth, and 29-year-old Gerald Tidwell.
It was a security breach Police Chief Rick Chandler said has been minor compared to what could have happened.
"It's a time bomb waiting to go off," he said. "They could've gotten something more dangerous out of that locker. There have been safety concerns brought up many times."
He said Judge Reese Holley recently insisted all inmates due in court arrive together in the morning to speed up the process.
But with only two officers to supervise, it's a plan Chief Chandler said doesn't work. The two holding cells open to inmates are supposed to hold less than six inmates a piece.
"A lot of times we have almost 20 including the females," Chandler said.
Making things more complicated, the bathrooms available to the inmates are located in a hallway that's open to the public. Chandler said inmates have been supervised during bathroom breaks, but they could always work around an officer, planning to meet friends or family in the hallway for a quick exchange of items like drugs.
In a public letter to the City Administrator, Judge Reese Holley said the problem hasn't been too many inmates, it's how police have been managing them. When the inmates stole the alcohol one supervising officer was sitting at a desk around the corner. The other was busy with other inmates taking a bathroom break.
The officer at the desk has been facing a hearing after an internal investigation of what happened.
City Administrator Rydell Wesson fired back in his own letter, blaming the limitations of the facility in conjunction with the judge's recent changes to court dates and times.
"We've expressed concerns for almost two years," Chief Chandler said.
Taking matters into their own hands, the Dickson Police Department decided it's no longer transporting more than six inmates to the building at any given time.
They said if the Judge doesn't like the new plan, he'll have to write a formal court order against it.
Judge Holley declined an interview but did speak with NewsChannel 5 over the phone. He reiterated the sentiments in his letter, underscoring his belief that the court needs someone who's solely in charge of security.
