Editorial: Sheriff’s resolved lawsuit is good news but sad commentary
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In Pennsylvania, a sheriff’s office has a mixed bag of responsibilities, but they all come down to one simple role.
Whether a deputy is serving a warrant or delivering a subpoena or enforcing an injunction, the job is the same. It is about being the arm of the court.
It is ironic that for the past 18 months, the Westmoreland County Sheriff’s Department has been at odds with the county commissioners over a court order.
It started in July 2020, when Westmoreland County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Rita Hathaway signed an order directing the sheriff’s office to transport prisoners for medical care such as treatments and testing. Sheriff James Albert had stopped such transfers.
The order has become a sticking point between the sheriff and the commissioners, including Doug Chew, who called Albert “derelict in his duties” over it. Meanwhile, Albert contended he was not trying to deny care; he was just saying his deputies weren’t qualified to provide a service the county should be receiving through its $2.5 million contract with Wexford Health Services.
It came to a head when Albert filed a lawsuit in October asking for a declaratory judgment. That has now been resolved, Albert claimed, after a Monday meeting in chambers with Common Pleas Judge — and former sheriff — Chris Scherer. Under that as-yet-unsigned agreement, inmates will be transported by ambulance, with deputies providing a separate security detail.
This is common sense. Medical professionals provide medical services. Law enforcement enforces the law. Inmates who require medical intervention receive the necessary care.
The only problem is that this very simple division of labor and responsibility took 18 months, a standing court order, harsh words between elected officials and a lawsuit to achieve. It’s also more than a little ridiculous that the whole thing was allowed to blow up during a pandemic when the county jail has had multiple outbreaks of covid-19.
It is a positive thing for everyone that this situation has been resolved, but the county’s top elected officials and the long arm of the law should be able to figure out something as simple as driving someone to the hospital without involving at least two lawyers and a couple of judges. That they couldn’t says quite a bit about how things work in the county courthouse.