Topic
Shelby County Sheriff's Office coverage, on the record. This page tracks the SCSO's budget, the county jail at 201 Poplar, deputy staffing and overtime, lawsuits, and oversight by the County Commission. The Sheriff is the county's largest law-enforcement agency and its biggest public-safety line item.
A class action filed September 15 alleges heat above 90 degrees, weeks in plastic chairs instead of beds, sewage in living areas, and failing fire systems at the Shelby County Jail, and asks for court intervention and an independent monitor rather than money.
The 901 Report
The new sheriff is recruiting nationally for the official who will run Tennessee's largest jail and Jail East for Women, while the facilities sit under active litigation and a jail healthcare contract nears its end.
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The Shelby County Sheriff's Office says Beverly Turnage, 43, was found unresponsive on September 12 and pronounced dead within the hour. The office calls it an active investigation, and it has not said who is reviewing the death or what caused it.
The 901 Report
A jury convicted former deputy Courtney Parham of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in the 2022 jail death of Gershun Freeman, acquitting him of second-degree murder, and found former deputy Stevon Jones not guilty on all counts. Sentencing is September 25. Seven co-defendants still await trial.
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Chief Inspector Michael Green was the shift commander at 201 Poplar on October 5, 2022. He testified for several hours Saturday in the trial of Stevon Jones and Courtney Parham, who are charged with second-degree murder and are presumed innocent. Jurors saw video of Gershun Freeman being punched, kicked and pepper-sprayed.
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Jury selection began August 3 for Stevon Jones and Courtney Parham, each charged with second-degree murder. Both have pleaded not guilty and are presumed innocent. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. The case is being prosecuted by a district attorney from Nashville.
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Rockez McDaniel, 33, died in custody in July 2025. His family filed suit on July 28, naming Shelby County, jail officers and supervisors, nurses, and the jail's medical contractors. Every claim in the complaint is an allegation. No court has ruled.
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No commissioner asked a question at committee. No commissioner pulled it from the consent agenda five days later. The money is fiscal 2026 general funds, and fiscal 2026 ended on June 30.
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Two commissioners have now written the county mayor asking for a formal study of the Criminal Justice Center. The building has disrupted court operations for most of the past month, and the officials being asked to act are both leaving office within weeks.
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After 14 detainees and five staff were overcome by heat inside the Criminal Justice Center, commissioners are pressing Mayor Lee Harris to order a full assessment of the building. The county has already spent $58 million on emergency repairs, and the Sheriff says the facility is crumbling.
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Temperatures hit 92 degrees at 201 Poplar. Fourteen detainees needed medical attention, one was hospitalized, and five kitchen workers overheated. Staff called the conditions "inhumane and cruel."
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The Shelby County Sheriff's Office is one of the largest pieces of the county budget the Commission votes on June 29. Sheriff Floyd Bonner has said the county shortchanged his office, even as the aging jail at 201 Poplar faces serious scrutiny.
The 901 Report