Limelight Forums

Greetings,

The Marion County Sheriff's Office Investigative and Internal Affairs Division has indeed cleared Sergeant Tassiter of all wrongdoing. The investigation closed shortly after the "no contest" plea was entered by Senator Pumpkin. I would like to touch on certain aspects of Senator Pumpkin's open letter.

As the Sheriff of this fine county, I would like to assure you that we take all complaints, whether they are against another civilian or a Law Enforcement Officer with the utmost seriousness. If any misconduct by a Law Enforcement Official under my command was found, appropriate action would have been taken. However, just like the general populace, we are all innocent until proven guilty. 

I would also like to touch on the issue of transparency. It is the departmental policy for all Deputies, even myself, not to comment on an ongoing investigation of any kind. However, now that the investigation has been closed, I am more than welcome to publicly share the results. Again, due to the fact that there are no CCTV cameras inside the jails, in addition to the fact that Sergeant Tassiter did not have his body-mounted camera on at the time and the lack of witnesses, we have no way of knowing what truly happened. Therefore, we are unable to prove or disprove any allegations made for or against Sergeant Tassiter. As such, the Marion County Sheriff's Office does not intend to file additional charges against the senator. Further, I did not order the investigation to be closed. Our own Internal Affairs Division came to me and told me as I was about to leave my office for the day that their investigation has concluded. 

I do realize all of this may come off as me being quite hostile, however, I can assure you that my intention here is solely to present the facts as they were given to me. We all appreciate your efforts to ensure that all Law Enforcement Officers are held accountable for any misconduct while in an official capacity, and I would gladly work with you to help that piece of legislation become a reality.

Senator Pumpkin, I would like to close by wishing you a very speedy recovery and the best of luck on your legislation.

Regards,

Sheriff Jack Mondays
Marion County Sheriff's Office