Report: Union issues no-confidence vote for jail leaders in Lexington

UPDATE: 05/03/22 10:58 P.M.

As we reported Monday, a police union representing corrections officers for the Fayette County Jail issued a “no confidence” vote against two of their leaders, citing poor morale and conditions affecting the safety and health of the officers..
On Tuesday, we spoke with fraternal order of police union Lodge #83 to get more answers.

FOP President Michael Harris says he believes there is a disconnect between FDCD Director Lisa Farmer and the staff.
He says the staff is working 16-hour days and dealing with verbal abuse at the jail, which is causing people to leave.

“We should be a magnet. And we have folks leaving our place constantly going to other smaller counties. We should have a waiting list of people coming to work at our place,” Harris said.

FOP leaders say one of their solutions is to decrease the number of inmates currently at the jail.

They say the Kentucky state FOP is planning a press conference Friday to show their support for the Lodge’s efforts to fix issues at the jail.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ/PRESS RELEASE) – One of Kentucky’s largest Fraternal Order of Police unions, FOP Town Branch Lodge #83, issued a vote of no-confidence regarding LFUCG Public Safety Commissioner, Kenneth Armstrong, and FCDC Director, Lisa Farmer, at a special called executive board meeting.

FOP Lodge #83 represents sworn corrections officers working at the Fayette County Detention Center. The vote was issued by FOP’s Lodge #83’s executive board, which is made up of the organization’s elected officers, and the board of trustees.

According to FOP Lodge #83, the vote was not carried out by the full membership, but the board’s voted consistent with the feedback they received following a membership survey. The no-confidence vote, believed to be the second in the history of the LFUCG, cited the emergency conditions existing at the jail affecting the safety and health of corrections officers and the inmate population, as well as poor morale among the rank-and-file during the tenures of Armstrong and Farmer.

FOP President Michael Harris announced the results of the vote and called for immediate leadership changes, “The executive board unanimously voted, and hereby formally issue, a vote of no confidence regarding Commissioner Armstrong and Director Farmer.”

Harris says the FOP membership has no confidence that either are competent to lead the facility moving forward. “It simply means that the men and women who faithfully serve at FCDC and risk their lives every day to keep us safe do not believe that Commissioner Armstrong or Director Farmer are competent to lead FCDC,’’ explained Harris.

FCDC Sergeant, Steve Parker, current Vice-President of FOP Lodge #83, said, “I have had the privilege of serving with thousands of law enforcement officers in my decades of public safety service, but I have never seen the morale as low as it is today.”

“We were at crisis staffing levels in 2019 when Commissioner Armstrong was serving in the same position under the prior administration,” said Parker. “The jail is about two miles away from Commissioner Armstrong’s office. Yet, since his appointment on March 7, 2018, most corrections officers have never met the man—or even know his name,” stated Parker.

“We are missing nearly 120 corrections officers needed to safely operate this facility. FCDC has entire housing units holding over 80 inmates without a sworn officer in the tower. FCDC is now leaving doors in secured areas open—doors which are supposed to be locked. Management’s dangerous approach, supported by Commissioner Armstrong, is only going to lead to more assaults against officers and deaths among inmates,” Parker added.

According to survey results, almost 50% of the front-line staff currently employed expect to leave within the next 12-24 months.

“Instead of acknowledging the emergency conditions and advocating for immediate relief efforts for front-line staff, Director Farmer response to ridiculous overtime hours is to demand corrections officers work 60+ hours every week, including multiple overtime shifts, under threat of termination”, said Harris.

“We have multiple officers facing termination today because Director Farmer is trying to force exhausted officers to work multiple overtime shifts, consisting of 16 hours workdays. Many officers live more than an hour away from FCDC. They drive home, eat dinner, shower, get a few hours of sleep, and drive back to the facility for another 16-hour day,” said Harris. “It doesn’t take a medical doctor to opine that these sort of workplace demands are dangerous to the officer’s health and severely affect their mental alertness while on duty.”

According to Harris, officers of all ages and at all stages of their career are leaving FCDC, “Because of constant harassment, retaliation, and mistreatment by Director Farmer or through her management directives.” Harris added, “The culture has deteriorated at the jail to the point where nearly everyone is looking for an opportunity to exit and find a new employer.”

“Every day we hear from corrections officers who are afraid they will encounter severe injuries, even death, when coming to work. I don’t blame them. Some of society’s most dangerous people are held at the jail,” said Harris. “When an officer is outnumbered by 96 inmates with some possessing shanks, really bad things can—and do—happen.”

According to FOP Lodge #83, this past weekend it was reported that new recruits, only employed a few weeks and having less than five days assigned to a field training officer, were left alone to supervise entire housing units.

Harris calls Director Farmer’s decision reckless and irresponsible, “Coming off of a city council debate where it was represented that KY National Guard soldiers were incapable of assisting at the facility because they lacked proper training, Director Farmer’s decision to place new recruits alone in housing units, without critical training and experience handling violent encounters, failed every safety
standard.”

“Neither Commissioner Armstrong nor Director Farmer have taken any steps to address or improve working conditions, officer safety or officer morale,’’ Harris said. “You cannot lead a critical public safety division in absentia.”

Membership surveys support Lodge #83’s position. Over 80% of respondents stated Director Farmer had never briefed their shift about important issues during the past year.

According to FOP Lodge #83, it conducted a member survey in September 2019, about one month prior to Mayor Gorton’s election for her first term in office. 95% of officers described morale as ‘below average’ or ‘poor’, with 80% rating morale as ‘poor’. At the time of the 2019 survey, FCDC had approximately 60 vacant corrections officer positions:

Source: FOP Lodge 83

FOP President Harris thought the survey results would serve as a ‘wake-up call’ to the new administration and Commissioner Armstrong.

“The mayor’s transition team, led by former United States Attorney and current Kentucky Secretary of Justice, Hon. Kerry Harvey, considered fixing the staffing and morale in the Division of Community Corrections as the number one priority for Mayor Gorton’s administration. Instead, the situation only deteriorated”, Harris said. “And that advice came from one of the most respected leaders in law enforcement in the entire Commonwealth.”

FOP Lodge #83 surveyed its membership again in July 2021. The results were nearly unchanged from two years prior:

Source: FOP Lodge 83

“In less than 3 years, the number of vacancies has doubled. FCDC has continued to lose experienced officers at nearly the triple the pace new officers get hired”, Harris said. “About a third of new recruits will terminate employment before completing a one-year probation period and nearly one-half are gone within 18 months.

“Four FCDC bureau majors, with decades of experience, left employment within the past year”, Harris said. “These respected leaders left FCDC not because they were ready to leave but because they did not agree with direction of the jail under Commissioner Armstrong and Director Farmer. Their reasons are consistent with the feelings of front-line staff. The failure of leadership is obvious.”

According to FOP Lodge #83, President Harris and Vice-President Parker have attended multiple LFUCG City Council meetings to raise awareness about the public safety crisis at FCDC. Several members of the City Council have demonstrated an interest in improving the health, safety, and working conditions but there has not been an opportunity to fully examine the problems and debate short and long-term solutions.

At the April 28, 2022, LFUCG City Council regular meeting, the grieving family of a recent suicide victim at the jail spoke during public comments. The victim’s mother spoke about how staffing vacancies at FCDC can have life-ending consequences. You can view the video HERE.

According to FOP Lodge #83, front-line staff dispute Mayor Gorton’s public statements that there is not a crisis at the jail. 99% of respondent described the conditions as a crisis. 96% of corrections officers believe the lack of adequate staff in housing units creates an unsafe environment for officers.

Lodge #83’s executive board hopes the City Council will immediately convene an investigation and hold special City Council hearings, under the authority vested in the LFUCG Charter, to obtain information and ideas to mitigate the crisis and improve the working conditions and safety for corrections officers and inmates.

“The fundamental question which must be answered is what happens to public safety in Fayette County if the jail becomes totally incapacitated due to staffing vacancies. This is not hyperbole. Alarm bells were sounded four years ago, and no help arrived. We are at the cusp of having this situation becoming irreversible if something does not happen immediately”, said FOP President Harris.

A copy of the May 1, 2022, FOP Town Branch Lodge #83 survey results can be seen HERE.