Sheriff Phil Redmond allowed one of his deputies to maintain use of his county-issued cell phone for four months after the deputy was indicted and subsequently suspended from the Iredell County Sheriff's Office, public records reveal.
A state grand jury indicted Tommy Adams for obstruction of justice in December 2010 (Iredell County sheriff's deputy indicted). He was consequently suspended without pay from the sheriff's office. But Adams continued using his county cell phone until April 21, 2011, just three days after a county resident requested copies of the deputy's most recent public cell-phone records.
While suspended, Adams spent several thousand minutes on his county phone, but many of the numbers were blacked out on the bills provided to the Report. Marty Byers, captain of personnel for the sheriff's office, said that's because Adams, even while suspended, was asked to review the bills and mark out calls that were personal in nature.
But not all the calls were blacked out on the records, indicating, per Byers' response, that perhaps Adams was using the phone for “professional” calls as well. It is unclear why he would have been making such calls while being suspended from the sheriff's office.
It is also unclear why Adams did not mark out seemingly personal calls he placed to Kim Taylor, the attorney defending him against the State's obstruction-of-justice charge, or those he placed to his wife's cell phone or to Sheriff Phil Redmond's home.
Byers did not respond when asked if Adams, in addition to his cell phone, was allowed to keep his gun and badge. He also did not respond to why Adams was allowed to continue using his phone for four months after he was suspended and if that is in keeping with N.C. General Statutes and the sheriff's office Standard Operational Procedures.
Deputy County Manager Tracy Jackson said he has no knowledge of a county policy regarding the collection of public equipment from a suspended employee. However, he said, “I think it is logical for the supervisor of a suspended employee to obtain any county-issued property from that employee.” County property such as cell phones, he said, “should be turned in when an employee is suspended and re-issued as appropriate if said employee is re-instated.”
Iredell County's accounting procedure's manual states that “personal telephone calls are occasionally necessary, but they should be limited.” It also states that “department heads, division heads, and elected officials (are) responsible for reviewing and approving the monthly telephone bill … for their departments.”
Jackson said the sheriff's office is expected to abide by any and all policies approved by the Iredell County Board of Commissioners and/or N.C. Law. While the county does not have a formal policy in place, Jackson cited the N.C. Constitution, saying it “provides a definition of 'public purpose' which indicates that public funds be spent for the benefit of the public in general and not just for the benefit of certain individuals or special interests.”
This is the second time in recent months that the sheriff's judgment about county-issued cell phones has been called into question. In March, it was reported here that a long-time crime reporter with the Statesville Record & Landmark, apparently for several years, used a cell phone issued to her by the sheriff's office and paid for by county taxpayers.
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