Paragould, AR – Jonesboro Right Now – Greene County Sheriff Brad Snyder has terminated nine detention center employees following an internal review into the death of 18-year-old inmate Atiyana Willis.
Willis died on Sept. 22 after suffering a medical emergency while in custody at the Greene County Detention Center. Following the incident, Snyder immediately requested that the Arkansas State Police conduct an independent investigation into the in-custody death, which remains ongoing.
In conjunction with the state’s investigation, Snyder personally reviewed video footage and facility documentation surrounding Willis’s time in the jail.
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In a video statement updating the public, the sheriff expressed that the findings of his preliminary review angered him greatly.
Snyder said that the standard in his jail is for every person to be checked on, cared for, and treated with dignity, but internal evidence showed that some employees failed to meet that standard. Declaring that he would neither make excuses for nor tolerate these failures, Snyder announced the firing of the nine employees.
In response to the incident, the sheriff has ordered immediate, mandatory retraining for all remaining jail staff. The training will strictly cover how to properly recognize and respond when an individual in their care requires medical assistance, as well as the proper procedures for checking on every inmate. Snyder noted that while the majority of the jail’s staff do a difficult job very well, the facility has an absolute obligation to answer every time an inmate needs help.
While the internal review has led to these immediate personnel changes, Snyder noted that the facility’s own internal investigation is still continuing alongside the state’s probe. He emphasized that if further operational changes are deemed necessary, they will be swiftly implemented.
Officials are currently waiting for the Arkansas State Crime Lab to complete an autopsy to determine Willis’s exact cause of death. The sheriff’s office stated it will continue to provide updates to the public as the independent investigation progresses and more information becomes available.
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