Editors Note: This opinion column is meant to be light and humorous and should not be taken as an actual news story but rather for entertainment purposes. All emails are genuine and not embellished or altered in any way.
It is no secret that the last two years I have used the Open Records Act to request many emails from both elected officials and government employees. What I have found is often shocking. Other times it is downright hilarious.
I believe our beloved Sheriff Richard Roundtree’s emails can provide insight into how he manages his staff and spends his days. Initially I started looking into Roundtree’s emails to see what rationale he had for the decision to stop answering alarm calls. The shocking result led me to dig more into his emails. Below is what I believe to be the funniest email I have ever seen an elected person send even though I know Roundtree and his staff do not think it’s a laughing matter.
From: Richard Roundtree
To: RCSO Personnel
Good Morning All:
It had been brought to my attention that personal food items stored in the common area refrigerators were being consumed by individuals who were not the owners of the items. Therefore, yesterday, I had a cheese and fruit tray placed into the upstairs breakroom refrigerator yesterday at 5:00pm, CLEARLY marked “SHERIFF ROUNDTREE”. Upon retrieval this morning, the tray had been Decimated!
While we often place items in common areas for public consumption, I consider it a violation of one’s personal space when someone takes items that have been clearly marked for personal use.
This will cease Immediately! Or the next communication will not be as pleasant as this one.
That is all
We can all laugh at the silliness of the email as well as the bad grammar but make no mistake: the sheriff was angry over this issue and takes his food very seriously.
After requesting a wide date range of emails related to the alarms, it became very clear that the sheriff had consulted with virtually no one via emails to anyone on the decision to start responding to alarms. I found that alarming. Any reasonable person would deduce that Chief Clayton made the decision unilaterally as he was the face of the decision and sent tons of emails out on the issue. The sheriff was silent.
After that wide search came up empty, I decided to see if the sheriff even uses email. A request of two random days in September showed that the sheriff sent only 12 emails. One of those emails was about a Roundtree buying back time, 1 was a request he punted to the chief, 1 was an officer wanting Roundtree to mentor him and the rest were about food. Below are a few of those emails:
Thinking it was an anomaly I requested another random two days the following month. The results were very similar. Only this time Rountree only sent 8 emails over 2 days. Half of those 8 emails were the same email with the text “GOT HIM!”. below is the attachment on the email which is clearly geared towards Burke County Sheriff Alfonzo Williams and the investigation into his use off taxpayer funds.
A wider search of emails revealed no further emails were sent to the officer who requested Roundtree’s help with mentorship.
Rountree’s Happy New Years email to all staff was anything but happy. (spelling and grammar corrections have not been made)
From: Richard Roundtree
Good Morning ALL:
Some animal lover has taken it upon themselves to simi-adopt a stray cat who hangs out at our rear entrance. They have done so by purchasing and leaving cat food near the door in the evening hours. This invites other unwelcomed visitors onto our property. This process will stop IMMEDIATELY!! If you want the cat, TAKE IT HOME!
And Happy New Year!
Below are 10 things I believe can be learned about our sheriff from his emails.
- He doesn’t like cats
- He likes cheese
- He knows how to send emails
- He doesn’t like to send emails on issues of importance such as the decision to stop answering alarm calls
- His spelling and grammar are atrocious
- He likes exclamation points
- He doesn’t like Sheriff Alfonzo Williams
- He likes to delegate to the chief unless its food related
- He doesn’t like email dings interrupting his Netflix movies on his computer
- He isn’t interested in mentoring younger officers
In the sheriff’s own words. “That is all.”
Joe Edge is the publisher of The Augusta Press. Reach him at joe.edge@theaugustapress.com
