Retiring jail administrator Fitzpatrick leaves legacy of respect with staff, inmates
With the number of inmates who have passed through the walls of the Logan County Jail throughout Administrator Greg Fitzpatrick’s 30-year career, it’s not uncommon for him to bump into formerly incarcerated individuals when he’s out and about in the community. Those former jail inmates often are actually pleased to see him and will stop to chat, offering him a rundown of what’s going on in their lives.
It’s that interpersonal connection and Lt. Fitzpatrick’s unique ability to be both “firm, but fair” when managing and interacting with inmates that have set the lieutenant apart in his position, Logan County Sheriff Randy Dodds related this week. Those characteristics and his three decades of wisdom also will be greatly missed when the jail administrator retires effective Jan. 31. A retirement party is planned in his honor that day from 1 to 3 p.m. at the sheriff’s office, 284 S. County Road 32.
“It’s been a total blast working with Greg. I love this man, and I’m going to miss the heck out of him,” the sheriff said.
“He has the unique ability to communicate and relate to people of all levels. He is a firm disciplinarian, but the inmates respect him. When they see him after they’re out of jail, they are quick to tell him ‘hello’ and let him know how they’re doing. He creates that open relationship with them.
“His staff looks up to him, and he leads by example. He has common sense leadership that you don’t always see nowadays, and exercises sound judgment in his position.”
The upcoming retiree and 1981 Benjamin Logan High School graduate said his former colleague, the late Logan County sheriff’s deputy Russ Weiser, impressed upon him much advice for jail management and walking the delicate balance of working with inmates. Weiser, who passed away in 2014, served as a longtime corrections officer at the Logan County Jail and Logan County Juvenile Detention Center, that have been managed by Lt. Fitzpatrick.
“I learned from Russ Weiser to be ‘firm, but fair’ when dealing with inmates,” the lieutenant said. “We need to show them respect for them to show us that respect back.
“You’re also only as good as the staff you have working for you. I have the best staff, and can just ask them anything, and know it will be done professionally. I can’t say enough about how much I appreciate them.”
Current Logan County Jail assistant administrator Sgt. Adam Fullerton will replace Lt. Fitzpatrick to run both facilities and will be promoted to the rank of lieutenant beginning Feb. 1, the sheriff said.
Lt. Fitzpatrick began his career at the Logan County Sheriff’s Office Jan. 9, 1990. He was hired as a corrections officer alongside former Sheriff Andrew Smith, and then a year later, Sheriff Dodds joined the ranks of the LCSO staff as a road deputy.
It was in those early years beginning around 1994 when Lt. Fitzpatrick and the current sheriff formed a bond while both were working the night shift together, the pair shared. Then-deputy Dodds would stop at the sheriff’s office and jail for a break around 3 a.m., and would have many interactions with then-corrections officer Fitzpatrick.
“We both were forced to work third shift at the time, and at first, we weren’t real happy about it,” said the retiring jail administrator, who in 1993 was promoted to the position of corporal and as a supervisor in the jail.
“But in the end, we got a whole lot accomplished — much crime was solved and we had the time of our lives,” the sheriff said. “I have so many fond memories of those years and all that we went through together. Our third shift sergeant, Fred Carnes, called it the ‘the third shift circus.’”
During that time, the former sheriff’s office and adult jail was located at the site of the current Logan County JDC, 104 S. Madriver St.
At the previous jail, inmates’ booking information was handwritten into a large log book and jail staff locked the cells with keys, the duo related.
Now inmate information is compiled in the jail’s computer system, and each of the cell blocks can be locked with the push of a button in the central control room of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office and Jail complex at 284 S. County Road 32, which opened in November 2000.
With the opening of the new facility, Lt. Fitzpatrick said he worked in maintenance for a short time, and also served as the agency’s litter prevention officer.
Then in 2007, the jail administrator was promoted to lieutenant and to his current position under former Sheriff Michael Henry.
Beginning that year and continuing the next two years, the downturn in the economy greatly impacted the county’s budget and resulted in three rounds of lay-offs at the sheriff’s office. In total, 46 staff members from all divisions, from road deputies to kitchen staff, lost their jobs during that time.
“We had the very difficult job of telling a lot of these people that they would be losing their jobs,” Lt. Fitzpatrick said. “It was terrible, but someone had to do it.
“Every single one of the people we talked to had a story, and you felt like you were just adding to their troubles by taking their job away.”
The reduced staff was particularly hard on the jail, where a lower corrections officer-to-inmate ratio can make the occupation much more dangerous. However, with Lt. Fitzpatrick’s leadership, the Logan County Jail made it through that rocky time.
“With so many people riding on his back, he helped us weather the storm,” Sgt. Fullerton said.
Even in brighter economic times, the task of operating a jail has many moving parts and is more complicated than one might initially realize, the LCSO officials noted. The Ohio Revised Code requires all sheriff’s offices to maintain a county jail and “it’s a huge part of our budget,” the sheriff said.
In recent years, approximately 2,000 inmates on average are booked into the Logan County Jail annually, and they require a myriad of services, from more than 100,000 meals served by kitchen staff throughout the year, to visitation, medical assistance and mental health services.
In addition to the traditional jail requirements, under Lt. Fitzpatrick’s leadership, a number of unique programs have been put in place, including the Logan Council Jail garden that completed its ninth growing season in 2019. Inmates earn good-time credit and gain life skills by working in the garden plot to cultivate fresh produce available for the kitchen staff to incorporate into meals.
Another innovative program has paired the jail inmates with good time credit for working at the Logan County Solid Waste Management District, 1100 S. Detroit St., to sort recycled materials. The program began in 2014 after a contract was initiated between the agencies.
In addition, the agency’s Logan County Corrections Academy started in 2015 and provides the core courses required for corrections officers around the state that must be completed within their first year of employment. The academy is run by Commander Joe Torsell, and graduates of the program have attained a 100 percent passage rate on the state exam, Sgt. Fullerton and Lt. Fitzpatrick said.
As he steps into retirement, Lt. Fitzpatrick said he can’t believe how quickly the past 30 years have gone and how much he has enjoyed working with a variety of people at the sheriff’s office.
“It’s been so much fun and I’m shocked that the day is almost here. It feels like just yesterday that we were working those midnight shifts.
“I’m going to miss the people more than anything. I’m trying to de-program myself a little each day that I’m not going to be here much longer, but it’s hard to do.”
To celebrate his well-earned retirement milestone, Lt. Fitzpatrick said his wife, Patty, and his children and grandchildren are taking him on a cruise during March to the Bahamas.