Pr. George's Fires Jail Chief

Another corrections officer who was suspended in March for allegedly bringing cellphones to inmates remains on suspension and under investigation, officials said. Two female corrections officers were suspended on suspicions that they had inappropriate sexual relationships with inmates.

Sgt. Curtis Knowles, president of the union that represents corrections officers, said the firing of McMurray "is one of those things you kind of expect when you see all the negative publicity we've gotten as a department over the last year."

But, Knowles warned, "I don't want it to seem like the removal of Director McMurray will fix all the department's problems."

For security reasons, corrections officers are not allowed to carry weapons inside the jail. Emergency response teams that are sometimes summoned to quell disturbances use nonlethal weapons, officials and Knowles said.

Officers check out handguns for specific assignments, such as guarding an inmate at a hospital or transporting inmates to another facility, Knowles said. A sergeant is assigned to the armory and works an eight-hour shift, five days a week, Knowles said. The sergeant would be responsible for making sure weapons are logged in, logged out and accounted for, Knowles said.

When the armory sergeant is not on duty, a shift commander -- usually a captain or a major -- could give orders for a weapon to be checked out, Knowles said.

Corrections officers go through a metal detector before they enter the jail. In late April or early May, after the cellphones were found in the jail, officials created a second checkpoint for officers, Knowles said. In the second checkpoint, officers entering the jail are checked by an officer holding a metal-detecting wand, which can cover areas of the body a stationary metal detector cannot, Knowles said.

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.