BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — Instead of worrying about inmates getting out, it was officers trying to get into the Burke County Jail that was a problem when the locks malfunctioned, according to the sheriff.
Channel 9 received cellphone video of first responders trying to break into the Burke County Jail Wednesday night after the locks on doors quit working.
Burke County Sheriff Steve Whisenant told Channel 9′s Dave Faherty that deputies couldn’t access 7 of the 9 pods at the jail after smelling smoke.
The jail has only been open for 15 months and cost $22 million to build.
Video from outside the jail shows first responders trying to breach one of the doors after staff started smelling smoke and realized many of the doors in the jail wouldn’t work. The sheriff said the manual key pass also failed and wouldn’t override the locks.
Off-duty deputies were called in over concerns all the doors would open at one time or if a fire started inside the building.
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The jail holds 264 inmates with 120 currently incarcerated.
“More than frustrating it’s really concerning that you have smoke in a jail and you’re not able to get into the jail cells. So that was the biggest concern,” Whisenant said.
Authorities said all of the inmates have been moved to a safe area of the jail.
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The sheriff said the lock company’s technician was scheduled to come in Thursday to determine what malfunctioned and begin repairs.
This isn’t the first issue we’ve seen at the jail. It opened in December 2019 and within months, the roof began leaking. Jail staff were seen using trash cans to collect the water when it rained.
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