Several months ago The Daily Counter News released an article pertaining to Tyrell Cato, the now former Kershaw County Detention Center Director, as to possible overspending of funds and questionable practices.
On August 2nd, 2022 The State Newspaper released an article pertaining to Cato’s termination as the new director for Richland Counties Detention Center, Alvin S. Glenn.
Within The States article, it is shown that Tyrell Cato was terminated by Kershaw County for allegations of misconduct pertaining to a female officer. But a few months later was hired as the new director for Alvin S. Glenn in Richland County.
This article brings in several questions about the hiring process used in Richland County and South Carolina in general. Most potential employers will contact any if not all former employers to discover why you left or why you were let go. This step seems to have been missed by Richland County as it would seem it merely went by what is being called a clerical error at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, which at first reported that Mr. Cato left his job in Kershaw County voluntarily.
This”clerical” error was caught by Kershaw County Administrators and was reported to SLED. But it was only after the information of Cato’s termination from the Kershaw County Detention Center became public that the clerical error was amended.
Kershaw County has long been known to do things differently than other counties in South Carolina and has a long history of allegations of playing favorites within its infrastructure. It’s only within recent months a change has been noticed within the county. Some residents of Kershaw County feel this is due to the “new blood” coming into its governmental system.
Former inmates at the Kershaw County Detention Center state that Mr. Cato treats inmates there as children and he feels his word is law within those walls. Some former inmates have also stated that he treated none of them with any respect or humanity. If a grievance was given to Cato it was either ignored or simply nothing was done.
During the onset of the pandemic, the Kershaw County Detention Center was given computer tablets for inmates to use, in order to facilitate virtual visits with loved ones and a bit more freedom such as listening to music and emails. These tablets were never issued to the inmates and when the question arose when they would be issued we are told the reply was always the same, “It’s up to Cato.”
In fact, during Mr. Cato’s time at the Kershaw County Detention Center, several programs were discontinued for inmates and we are told several privileges were taken away. One such act was the fact that the inmates became very limited as to what they could order from the prison canteen sheets, basic items were suddenly prohibited.
It wasn’t until certain former inmates with local connections began making these issues public that certain programs were once again restored to inmates with certain restrictions.