FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A sergeant with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office will be demoted to deputy, effective July 2, based on incidents that took place at the county’s detention facility starting in January, investigators said.
On Friday, Sgt. Tammy Stakes was served a notice of intent regarding the demotion.
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Authorities performed an internal investigation into Stakes, who works in the Court and Detention Services Division, and some alleged performance issues, the Sheriff’s Office said.
One incident involved a detention deputy being intoxicated at work, according to authorities. The allegation was brought to Stakes’ attention as the shift supervisor, and she didn’t take action until nearly two hours later, when she brought the issue to a commander, according to a news release.
The detention deputy was fired in May after an internal affairs investigation and the deputy’s subsequent violation of disciplinary probation, officials said.
The investigation into Stakes’ performance also included two memorandums from her supervisors.
In February, officials learned that inmates did not get their recreation time for 14 of the 28 days that month. On 10 of those days, Stakes or someone in her squad canceled the rec time, investigators said.
It is the sergeant's responsibility to make sure inmates get their recreation hours, in accordance with state standards. Stakes didn’t attempt to make up the time, either, officials said.
In March, a commander was notified by a deputy that an inmate was acting erratically and appeared to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The inmate, who had been taken into the facility nearly 12 hours earlier, said he had consumed anti-freeze, according to the release.
Officials questioned Stakes about the inmate’s status, and said she had very limited knowledge of what was going on with this particular person.
Stakes was then ordered to have the inmate taken to a hospital.
In addition to the two most recent performance issues, Stakes was given two separate
performance improvement plans – one in February 2014 and one in March 2017, authorities said. She also received a written reprimand in April 2018 for failing to attend a mandatory training class.
Then in May, she was counseled on how to properly carry an agency weapon.
“Sgt. Stakes continually displays unsatisfactory and incompetent supervisory skills, despite our attempts to improve her skill level,” Undersheriff Jack Bisland said. “We trust that our supervisors are competent to do their jobs and we hold them accountable. We cannot tolerate repeated failures to follow general orders, failure to perform the duties of the job, or failure to take immediate action during a serious situation, which a supervisor is entrusted to do promptly."
Stakes has been a member of the Sheriff’s Office since November 1995. The last sheriff, Jim Manfre, had appointed her to commander in January 2014.
Stakes voluntarily demoted herself from commander to sergeant in October 2017 after performance concerns were discussed, the release said.
Stakes can appeal her demotion if she acts within 10 days. During the interim period, her duties as a supervisor have been revoked.