The Rutherford County Adult Detention Center has been re-certified.
The Tennessee Corrections Institute announced the recertification on Wednesday. Officials said it was a goal Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh pledged to fulfill when he was voted sheriff in January by the Rutherford County Commission.
“Since taking office, we have worked very diligently in achieving that goal,” Fitzhugh said.
The Detention Center was decertified by TCI in 2016 after deficiencies were found in staffing, the physical plant, policies, and programs.
According to reports, that decertification increased potential liability issues and lawsuits.
Fitzhugh hired former Correctional Work Center Superintendent Bernard Salandy when he became sheriff. Salandy took on the role of Deputy Chief, and former Juvenile Detention Sergeant Chris Fly became captain at the Detention Center.
Both coordinated with the entire Detention Center staff to achieve recertification.
The sheriff said the entire staff “worked diligently to change policies and procedures and brought the standards up to a level of compliance.”
“As with any worthy goal, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication by the men and women at the Sheriff’s Office to achieve this accomplishment,” Fitzhugh said. “I am extremely proud of all of our employees’ efforts to bring the Detention Center back into compliance.”
“We look forward to working closely with TCI in the future and to maintain and continue to exceed their expectations in the future,” Fly said.
“The staff is buying into and enforcing our policies,” Salandy said. “There are some highly motivated people working here. We are striving to be the best facility in the state.”
