Westmoreland sheriff, commissioners reach deal to end inmate transport standoff

Westmoreland County Sheriff James Albert said a tentative settlement was reached to resolve a lawsuit he filed in October that sought to lift the requirement for his deputies to transport jail inmates for medical care.

Following a closed-door meeting Monday convened by Common Pleas Court Judge Chris Scherer with lawyers for the sheriff’s department and county commissioners, an agreement was struck that will require ambulances to transport inmates.

“This is something I’ve been in favor of since I took office two years ago. I think my main concern was the health and welfare of deputies and the inmates,” Albert said.

Melissa Guiddy, the county’s solicitor, declined to discuss specifics of the agreement.

“While a tentative understanding has been reached, the county is unable to comment further until the details have been confirmed in writing by a consent order of court and signed by the judge,” Guiddy said in a statement.

A blanket court order issued in July 2020 that required the sheriff’s department to transport inmates will remain in place until the new agreement is enacted, she said.

In the lawsuit, Albert sought a declaratory judgement that challenged the existing court order that directed sheriff’s department deputies to transport inmates from the county jail to outside medical treatments and for hospital visits deemed necessary by the facility’s medical provider.

Albert previously threatened to halt those transports and prompted threats from county commissioners to cut the sheriff’s department budget. A truce between the sheriff’s department and prison board, which includes Albert, the county commissioners, district attorney and controller, has been in place since this summer.

The agreement reached Monday requires the sheriff’s department to send deputies to the hospital as a security detail within two hours.

Scherer, who served as the county sheriff for nearly a decade before he was elected judge, served as a mediator between the sheriff’s office and prison board. He said Monday that he would recuse himself from the case had a settlement not been reached.

Henry Moore, the lawyer for the sheriff’s office, said language of the proposed consent order is being finalized and expects it to be signed this month by Common Pleas Court Judge Rita Hathaway.