Court Rules Tangipahoa Parish Must Fund Jail Expenses

Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards has released a copy of an opinion recently signed by Judge Jeffrey S. Johnson in a lawsuit filed against Tangipahoa Parish Government seeking reimbursement for hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenses incurred by the Sheriff in taking care of prisoners in the parish jail.

The court referenced Louisiana statutes, La. Attorney General Opinion No 16-0151, and Jones v. St. Tammany Parish Jail and ruled “that the Parish is responsible for all fixed and reasonable costs of the Jail . . . and that the right to make decisions on what costs are necessary for safe-keeping of prisoners is reserved to the Sheriff of the Parish and not to Parish Government.”

Sheriff Daniel Edwards responded (in part) that his office “has been underpaid by more than $1 million by Parish Government in the last two years, and that shortfall has caused significant financial hardship to the Sheriff’s Office. We would hope that the Parish Council and Parish President Robby Miller would take note of the Court’s ruling and begin a serious dialogue with us in efforts to amicably resolve this dispute.”