Former jail employees raise safety concerns after incident at Adair County Jail

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. – Some concerned members of the Adair County community reached out to KTVO after surveillance camera footage from the Adair County Jail was leaked.

We have received messages from residents asking us to watch this video and find out how some of these inmate behaviors are tolerated.

Adair County Jail video showing inmates riding a book cart down a flight of stairs was shared with KTVO on Aug. 10.

A concerned resident showed us the video, which was posted on a social media group page this summer.

After seeing this video, KTVO contacted Sheriff Eldon Grissom and nearly two weeks later we spoke with him and Jail Administrator Chris Stivers.

The sheriff didn't want to go on camera, but off camera, Grissom told us he didn't think this video was newsworthy.

Grissom said he was in the control room when this incident occurred and he saw the occupants carrying the book cart up the stairs.

When he saw this inmate jump on the cart, he tried to get into that part of the prison, but had to go through several secured doors, and when he made it into the pod, the inmate and the book cart inside were on foot of the stairs.

Grissom said no one was injured in this incident.

We also heard about other incidents at the prison and spoke to three former correctional officers who worked under Grissom.

All three asked to remain anonymous because they feared retaliation. That's why we call them Jailer 1, Jailer 2 and Jailer 3.

Prison Warden 1 told KTVO that the prison suffered from a severe lack of experience following the death of former prison administrator John Axom.

This prison guard said this book cart incident wasn't the first time someone failed to respond in a timely manner after seeing suspicious activity on the cameras.

Prison Warden 1 spent approximately 18 months in prison and left because he felt the administration was endangering the safety of staff.

Prison Guard 2 told us that the inmate in the video was always a troublemaker who chose which correctional officers he respected.

This former employee also said that when Axom ran the prison, he had a rule that said the book cart had to stay down at all times.

This employee left prison to pursue other opportunities.

Jailer 3 worked at the Adair County Jail for a year and said this video was no surprise.

They claim the administration lacks prison experience and they also accuse the sheriff of failing to enforce all of the inmate rules outlined in the handbook.

KTVO also spoke with Adair County District Judge Matthew Wilson to get his perspective on the video and the status of the jail.

He said it would be inappropriate for him to comment.