The Race for Colbert Sheriff - Part I

 

The race for Colbert sheriff has so far not been pretty. Supporters of each candidate have slung some heavy mud. We won't address every accusation here, but will present a few of the most pertinent jabs.

First, some info from one of our Colbert County bloggers who supports Republican Eric Balentine:

There have been 1.8 MILLION DOLLARS in lawsuits settled against Colbert County since 2015

1.2 MILLION DOLLARS of the 1.8 million is FEDERAL LAWSUITS AGAINST SHERIFF FRANK WILLIAMSON and the office/employees under his supervision.

The pages that follow are taken from a 124 page federal lawsuit by multiple victims of excessive violence/abuse handed down in the last year. You will find the direct link for a full read of the lawsuits at the bottom of page 6.

The budget for the Sheriff's office and jail is 40% of the county's total budget - the settlements for lawsuit against Williamson are 67% of the total lawsuits against ALL county offices and departments.

1.2 MILLION DOLLARS and potentially more to come from pending lawsuits because of Mr. Williamson's inability to train officers, discipline abusive inmates and manage operations.