COLUMBIA — The new director of Richland County's jail was fired from his previous job for a policy violation.
Tyrell Cato started his job July 2 running the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center that has been troubled by recent inmate violence, a prisoner's death amid overcrowding and staffing shortages.
But he was fired from his previous job for an unspecified policy violation, Kershaw County Administrator Danny Templar said July 28. Templar declined to share any details including when Cato was fired.
Richland County was not made aware that Cato had been fired during the hiring process, Richland County Administrator Leonardo Brown said in a statement July 28. Cato was still employed by Kershaw County when he began the hiring process with Richland County in early April, Brown said.
"Since learning this information, we have begun investigating the situation to determine the validity of any claims and establish all of the relevant facts," Brown said. "Upon the conclusion of that investigation, we will consider the appropriate action to take and share the information that we have gathered with the public."
Cato's hiring was announced at the July 20 Richland County Council meeting, almost three weeks after he started work. He is earning $145,000 a year.
Richland County Councilman Bill Malinowski said he did not recall the council members being informed about Cato's firing by county administrators. He said he did not feel comfortable commenting further without more information.
Council Chairman Overture Walker said he could not comment because it was a personnel matter.
Efforts to reach Cato were unsuccessful.
Cato spent 10 years working for the Kershaw County jail, including three as director, according to his LinkedIn profile. His page did not list an end date for his work in Kershaw County. Before that, he worked as a corporal for the Camden Police Department and a state correctional officer at Lee Correctional Institution.
At the July 20 council meeting, Brown said he believed Cato could help fix some of the issues the jail has had in the past year. Walker said at the time that he trusted Brown's judgment and believed "he got the right man for the job."
The county hired Crayman Harvey, an administrator at the S.C. Department of Juvenile Justice and former police officer, as the new assistant director for the jail last week, according to a LinkedIn post by Harvey.
The jail has a history of problems.
The last Alvin S. Glenn director, Ronaldo Myers, left in September after going on unapproved leave when a riot broke out among inmates, emails showed. Myers said in a memo at the time that he had planned to retire.
That riot led to two officers being injured and a dozen inmates being charged.
An inspection last September found the jail to be understaffed and over capacity. A federal lawsuit also alleged the jail treats detainees with mental illnesses to brutal conditions, including misuse of restraint chairs, shower stalls used as cells and unsupervised solitary confinement.
In February, inmate Lason Butler died after jail staff failed to provide him with proper food and liquids, the county coroner said later.
The county has attempted to fix some of its problems by upping starting salaries for staff, as well as increasing security measures.
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