Former deputy announces third campaign for Muscogee County Sheriff

Former longtime Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office employee Pamela Brown will join the race for the sheriff’s seat this year, she confirmed Friday.

Brown, 61, is currently the third candidate who has filed paperwork intending to run against incumbent Sheriff Donna Tompkins, who is seeking re-election after serving her first term.

The two other candidates include the current Muscogee County Marshal, Greg Countryman, and Mark LaJoye, a former Columbus police officer.

This is Brown’s third campaign for sheriff since she left the office in 2010 after 23 years of service.

There she served many roles within the jail, administration, investigations, the Metro Narcotics Task Force, patrol, bailiff services and other divisions. She also worked at the Harris County Prison for two years as a counselor, and currently works as a legal assistant at the law office of J. Mark Shelnutt and William Kendrick.

Brown said she feels there is a lot she can contribute to help reduce crime and make Columbus “better.” She said she applauds the recent change of the Metro Narcotics Task Force to the Metro Narcotics and Gang Task Force, but says more can be done to target the youth in the community, starting with more recreation centers and swimming pools.

She said someone once told her that the former Booker T. Washington housing project and the Elizabeth Canty Homes housing project used to share a common swimming pool, which led to less “beef” between the communities. Now, with two city pools closed for a third year in a row and many black churches without recreation centers or gyms, youth from different communities have less opportunity to interact and find common ground, she said.

“I’m not saying that’s what creates the gangs and what have you but it makes sense,” Brown said. “I don’t know why the city has such a problem with the swimming pool issue, money I guess, but there are ways to save money.”

Brown also said increased communication between the sheriff’s office, District Attorney’s office and judges could help clear up older misdemeanor cases and lessen overcrowding in the jail.

“It’s not the sheriff’s fault the jail is overcrowded, it’s the system I guess,” she said. “There is no reason that somebody who got a driving while license suspended charge in 2014, that case is still open. There should be a limit.”

And having talked to former inmates, Brown said she is also concerned about the quality of life for prisoners.

“I know the food is terrible, because everybody comes out and tells me,” she said. “Even though they are in jail, it’s the sheriff’s responsibility to oversee them, not judge them. It’s as though they’re being judged as criminals before they’re found guilty or innocent and that’s not part of the sheriff’s office job.”

Brown was disqualified from the 2016 election after failing to get fingerprinted for a criminal background check prior to the deadline. She appealed the decision but a judge upheld the disqualification of both her and another candidate.

Prior to that she ran against incumbent Sheriff John Darr in the May 2012 Democratic Primary but lost by a narrow margin.