ALAMANCE COUNTY, N.C. — The Alamance County Sheriff's Office gave a grim outlook on the state of the jail.
Sheriff Terry Johnson says inmates have attacked 35 detention officers over the last few months. Two were beaten so badly, they haven't been able to return to work.
The sheriff says one will never work as an officer again.
Johnson says staffing has gotten really tough. He says the jail is supposed to have 23 officers on duty. Sometimes, it only has 7.
He says he has pushed the county for more money to help with recruitment and retention.
"I lose a lot of sleep at night, worried about my officers. As a matter of fact, in the last two commissioners' meetings ago, I was making a presentation to the commissioners again about the shortage and the problems," Sheriff Johnson said. "While I was making that presentation, one of my detention officers was jumped. Got his hand broken, and got his face torn up by inmates. Now, that's not supposed to happen."
Sheriff Johnson says the risk extends to inmates too.
If they get into a fight among themselves, it can take the nearest officer several minutes to get there.
The sheriff's office says it needs 50 workers for the jail. It has hiring events planned for July.
MORE WAYS TO GET WFMY NEWS 2
Subscribe to our daily newsletter Let’s Get 2 It!
Download the WFMY News 2 APP from your Apple or Google Play store.
ADD THE WFMY+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or search for WFMY.
Amazon Fire TV: Search for WFMY to find the free app to add to your account. You can also add the app directly to your Fire TV through your Amazon account.