Sheriff Donna Tompkins: ‘I’m willing to look at everything... to see if it’s statutorily required’

When Donna Tompkins won a gender discrimination lawsuit against then-Muscogee County Sheriff John Darr in 2013, she had no idea that she would one day sit in his seat.

Now, in an ironic twist of events, Tompkins is the county’s first woman sheriff, after beating Darr in a December run-off by a 52 to 48 percent margin.

Tompkins sat down with reporter Alva James-Johnson and talked about her background, career and plans for the sheriff’s office. Here are excerpts from the interview, with the content and order of the questions edited slightly for length and clarity.

Q: How does it feel to be the first female Muscogee County Sheriff?

A: ... I don’t know the part about being the female, but it feels great to be the sheriff, certainly. I guess it is historic, though, to be a female and have accomplished this.

Q: What has it been like for you the first few weeks — your transition into this new position?

A. Very busy, especially the first couple of weeks, just trying to be everywhere at one time. ...

Q: What would you say are your biggest challenges?

A: ... Running down things, finding a copy of that contract, or “Who was handling that?” Because there wasn’t a lot of transition between myself and the former sheriff.

Q. How big is the department?

A: We have 441 full- and part-time employees. And, of course, the jail — I think the maximum capacity is 1,069. We were running today, I believe, 995. ...

Q: And what’s the current budget?

A: $27.5 million.

Q: What would you say are your priorities?

A: Well, we kicked off budget just Friday. And so my priority for now is to begin to put a budget together that we can work on that will meet our needs, and then work with Council and the mayor as far as getting those needs met and doing our job, being mission-focused.

Q: Your predecessor, former Sheriff John Darr, believed the amount budgeted for him by the city was not sufficient for him to do his job. And you have since dismissed the lawsuit that he filed over that issue. Do you believe the budget is sufficient?

A: I can tell you, as of this minute, we are tracking on budget. But my understanding, from people within the city, is that it had been that way for many years, and then suddenly towards the end of the year all these bills would come in that then took us over budget. So, again, I’m trying to track down if that’s coming. ... I don’t know at this moment.

Q: What are some of the things that you plan to do to control costs?

A: ... I am willing to look at everything that we are doing to see if it’s either statutorily required or if it’s something that is required by our city, the constitution, or whatever. ... And then the second thing is — and I’ve said this before many times — who we’re doing business with. Are we getting a good deal for our money? ... Let’s look at those contracts and see if we’re getting what we’re asking for.

As far as personnel goes, I don’t see us asking for additional personnel at this time. ... I know that certain things have increased, but certain things have decreased. ...

Q: Any contractors, specifically, that you’re looking at?

A: I’m looking at all contractors, everything. And that’s one of the things that I said I would do and I’m trying to do. You know, we do food service, we do medical, we do mental health contracts, we do a lot of things. Another thing that I’m finding is that there isn’t a contract — it’s just been kind of this way. Not that that’s necessarily bad, but let’s examine it and see if there are cost savings that we can accommodate.

Q: What’s the update on the incident where an inmate hanged himself?

A: As you know, we immediately called the GBI to investigate it because I wanted to let the community know that we’re going to be transparent. My initial understanding from our people and the GBI is there’s nothing here that is suspect, if you will. It’s awful that it happened. It’s unfortunate. But there was nothing that we did wrong, so to speak. But they’re still investigating. ...

Q: You’ve referred to it as a possible case of mental illness. How big a problem is mental illness in the jail?

A: It is a big problem. And we’re seeing that more and more because the state facilities, they just don’t have the space that they used to have. ...

Q: And so, what do you have in place to deal with people with mental problems?

A: ... We have New Horizons that we’re contracted with, and the Department of Justice has given us substantial compliance, even with their standards. ...

Q: Let’s talk a little about your background. You were born in Jasper, Ala.

A: ... Well, my mother and father divorced when I was young and we ended up in Columbus, Ga., because I had an aunt here that was married to someone in the military. I went to Baker High School. I quit in the 12th grade and graduated at Hallie Turner Private School. And then I went on and got a scholarship the next year for criminal justice. And it was interesting, because it was Jim Wetherington (former police chief and mayor), Gene Hodge (former sheriff), and Dr. Terry Norris, (formerly of the criminal justice department at Columbus State University) that gave the scholarship. ...

Q: I’m sure at that point in your life you never imagined that you would one day be sheriff.

A: I really didn’t ... but I remember working as a road deputy and thinking, “I want to sit at the table.” Because I came through with ... Terri Ezell, who became the warden, and she was really the first female. But she was at the jail. And so, in my mind, I thought, from the office perspective, that I want to sit at the table, but I never really thought at that time that I would be heading the table, so to speak.

Q: Who was your role model growing up?

A: ... Probably my mother. She was very strong minded. ... My mother has a high school diploma, but she did do the state board for hairdressing. I remember telling her when I went back to school to get my master’s degree, “I’m going to be 40 before I get this master’s degree.” She said, “Sweetie, you’re going to be 40 anyway. You might as well get that education because that’s one thing nobody can ever take away.”

Q: And she was there when you took the oath of office, right?

A: Oh, it was great. She got to go and vote for me. ... She’s very proud.

Q: So, tell me about how you got started with the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office.

A: At 19 years old, I came to work in Recorder’s Court, which at that time was run by the Sheriff’s Office ... and I eventually moved into working in the courtroom with the judges ... and then went to the jail as a correctional officer, and then became a deputy. ... And then I ... became the sergeant over patrol, and I was promoted to lieutenant, in charge of Internal Affairs, and then promoted again to captain, over human resources, administration. ...

Q: So I imagine that prepared you well for having to manage this massive organization.

A: ... You really do need to know a lot of things to be able to do this job.

Q: How would you compare your management style to John Darr’s management style?

A: ... I think Sheriff Darr was a very nice person. ... He would go directly to a person to handle things. And that may be effective in getting things done quickly, but if you do that on a large scale, there are a whole lot of people in between who missed what happened and why. ...

So, that’s one of the things that I’m trying to address here. If I have majors and captains and lieutenants, they’re here for a reason.

Q: And you’ve made some personnel changes, correct?

A: ... I have made Troy Culpepper my chief deputy ... and I have moved former chief deputy John Fitzpatrick Jr. to deputy chief in charge of corrections. And Maj. Terri Ezell was still under the Muscogee Sheriff’s Office, but she was in Recorder’s Court. So I’ve brought her back in to handle special projects for me, look into things that we might process better.

We’re having a huge deal with juveniles in Muscogee County because the state facility doesn’t have any place to put them. Our local Regional Youth Detention Center, we have to drive right past it, and take juveniles all over the state of Georgia. It’s becoming a huge drain on our manpower resources. ... I understand that some other sheriff’s offices are working with some sort of a video thing, so we’re not actually having to go get them and bring them back. So, I’ve asked (Maj. Ezell) to look into that. ...

Q: So, tell me what motivated you to run for sheriff?

A: ... I was here as a captain, but the day I absolutely decided to run for sheriff was the day the Ledger-Enquirer had Sunny Shah on the front page and the report that Sheriff Darr had gone into federal court and was a character witness for him. ... For a lot of friends and people at the police department, people in the sheriff’s department, it was like, “What was that?” And for me that was the day I said, “That’s it. Somebody is running for sheriff, and I guess it’s me.”

Q: John Darr said in the past that he felt the mayor had a lot to do with you running. Is that correct?

A: That is not true. ... I’ll say this, I believe the mayor would’ve supported just about anybody that ran for sheriff, probably, or at least said, “Hey, I’m glad somebody’s running for sheriff.”

... I’ll be honest with you, I started thinking about it way back. I mean, I was here as a captain, and I really did see how the whole situation between the Sheriff’s Office and the city and the budget, it was not good for the Sheriff’s Office. And, you know, this is where I’ve been 31 years. This is home, this is family, and I didn’t see that getting any better. ... I saw the huge turmoil about the attorney’s fees. ... Truthfully, I had prayed about it for a long time...

Q: And you also had a situation where you sued John Darr for gender discrimination. Did that have anything to do with you running?

A: Not really. ... To me, when that was over, that was over.

Q: Why did you file the lawsuit?

.... Twenty-two men and one woman had been promoted in his first however many years of sheriff, people with high school diplomas over people with master’s degrees. And, you know, if you don’t stand up for something, you’ll just fall for anything. And to me, it was like, “This is not right. Something is wrong. And if somebody doesn’t stand up and say something about it, it’s not going to change.” And so, a promotional system came out of some of that, and the first three people who came out of that promotional system were women. That’s a fact. And so, I always felt like — and I think the other ladies did too — that we’re very happy ... because it kind of leveled the playing field. ...

Q: Do you think we need more women in law enforcement?

A: I think women should apply just like men should apply and we need the best candidates in law enforcement. ... I think the ground should be level and everybody gets to compete, and if you’re the best candidate, we should hire you. ...

Q: I know the police department is having trouble attracting job candidates. Are you in the same situation?

A: ... We typically run about eight to 10 job openings open in the correctional, deputy field. I think the police department is running 80. So, I would say we’re not having the problem that they have with that.

Q: Let’s talk about the election. It was pretty divisive. How do you bring everybody in the department together?

A: ... If you were to go to work for Aflac and they were to change presidents, you’re not going to quit your job because you got a new president at Aflac. I mean, if you feel that strongly about it, hopefully you’ve already made your decision and left. But most people, it’s a job for them and they’re going to be loyal to whoever the sheriff is. At least, that’s what I expect them to do. ... I didn’t have anyone, internally, come out and viciously attack me. ... I think most people just want to do their jobs and will do their jobs regardless of who’s the sheriff.

Q: And in the primary, Pam Brown actually got more votes than you did. She had already been disqualified, so you won the primary, but didn’t get the majority of the votes. What are your thoughts about that?

A: ... I feel like I’m still here, that tells me God had a plan. That’s truly what I believe. I have nothing against Pam Brown or Mark LaJoye or John Darr. I just feel I’m still here, and I’m here for a reason, therefore God had a plan.

Q: Why do you think you were successful in the run-off against John Darr?

A: I think that the people of Muscogee County were ready for a change. They were tired of the legal bills, they were tired of the drama, and they were ready to move forward and put some of it behind them.

Q: It seems like there’s a much more cordial relationship between the Sheriff and the City Council now. Is that intentional on your part?

A: Absolutely, it’s intentional on my part. These are the check-writers. Your council does decide what budget you get. And I think they need to be very informed, and that’s part of what I want to do. When we get into budget processes and I’m asking for something, I’m more than willing to stand there and explain why I need it and why this is necessary to perform my job.

... We’ve got to talk. That’s what’s good for the people of Muscogee County. So I’m certainly doing my part, and I believe they will respond.

This story was originally published February 4, 2017 at 2:25 PM with the headline "Sheriff Donna Tompkins: ‘I’m willing to look at everything... to see if it’s statutorily required’."