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‘Mayor will be treated like any other inmate in jail’ Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said

Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was ordered to jail this morning by 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles will be treated just like any other inmate in the Wayne County jail system regardless of his status.
Wayne County Sheriff Warren Evans said Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was ordered to jail this morning by 36th District Court Judge Ronald Giles will be treated just like any other inmate in the Wayne County jail system regardless of his status.

Evans sat this afternoon for an exclusive interview with Michigan Chronicle senior editor Bankole Thompson about the jailing of the mayor.
Michigan Chronicle: Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, the mayor of the city of Detroit, is in your custody. You didn’t actually see this coming, did you?

Warren Evans: No I didn’t really see it coming. This is the second time he’s been in our custody (the first time he was booked after being charged with felony and perjury). This is the first time he’s been in our custody for what it looks like might be an overnight stay.

MC: There is discussion about the mayor being a powerful elected official. No special treatment here?

WE: There isn’t. The only thing that one (might consider) special treatment is we always treat high profile prisoners a little differently than we do the (regular people). And that’s because there are additional risks and problems. And we’ve had Dr. Kervovkian, we’ve had organized crime figures – not lumping them together, but obviously there are different considerations because my obligation is to protect the safety of everybody and the security of the institution. And so with people at a higher profile it brings up certain problems within the confines of our policies and procedures.

MC: With the mayor spending the night in jail, is there an increase in security within the jail itself?

WE: No, there won’t be an increase in security, but there will be precautions to make sure that the high profile prisoner is not in direct contact with others who may have agendas and other related things. It’s the protection that’s the most important. I see it almost as a ministerial duty that I do 50,000 times a year. An order from the court comes over and says, “I am directing the sheriff to take custody.” That’s not something that I negotiate. My role is to make sure I carry out the court order. My job is to make sure that he is safe and secure in this facility until such time that the judge decides to release him.

MC: Have the mayor’s lawyers tried to make any concessions to you?

WE: I have not talked with them. I don’t know if they’ve had any talks with the staff. Obviously he has a right to counsel and if his attorneys want to come in and see him, they’ll be able to do so as a professional visit just like any other inmate.

MC: How often can they visit? Throughout the day?

WE: Well, yes throughout the day.

MC: Are there any limitations on the visit?

WE: Well sure, the limitations are on the time. Don’t come at 9 p.m. at night (or) beating on the door 2 a.m. in the morning to come meet. There is a reasonableness that way. But when you understand all the people that you are housing have criminal justice related issues and many of them are pretrial people. In other words, they are not convicted of anything. There are certain rights that they have and one of them is the right to have access to their counsel. I take that very seriously. It’s no different in this case than the other.