FOLLY BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA: There have reportedly been allegations that a South Carolina sheriff was favoring a woman, who is accused of drunkenly running over and killing a bride on her wedding day in April, according to newly-released jailhouse phone calls. In the calls, Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, claimed that she was "really happy" because Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano was "trying to help me out" after she was accused of mowing down newlyweds Samantha Miller and Aric Hutchison as they were riding in a golf cart after their wedding, per the Daily Mail.
The calls were made public as a result of a lawsuit brought by the regional South Carolina media. They also showed that the suspect, who was being held without bond after a judge ruled that she posed a flight risk, lacked remorse. Komoroski reportedly said in the video that Graziano set up her parents' visit despite the fact that jail policy only permitted lawyers to meet prisoners and all other visitation was done electronically. She continued by criticizing the prison food but claimed that overall, she had been treated nicely. However, according to ABC News4, the sheriff's office has refuted all these allegations.
Who is Kristin Graziano?
Sheriff Graziano has been in law enforcement for 33 years, the last 19 in Charleston. She spent 14 years in Charlottesville, Virginia, before moving to Charleston. She also worked as an Element Leader and SWAT squad trainer with the Charleston County Sheriff's Office, as per firstnet.gov. He Twitter bio reads, "Sheriff at @ChasCoSheriff 33 years of law enforcement experience. First woman to be elected sheriff in SC. @Emerge_SC alumna." The State reported that Graziano made history by becoming the first elected female sheriff and the first openly gay sheriff in South Carolina.
'She really wants to help'
According to the phone calls released, Komoroski told her boyfriend that she anticipated being freed with Graziano's help. "The deputy sheriff, like whatever, the head person of Charleston County, I met with her today, and she's trying to help me out," the 25-year-old was heard saying, adding, "She's like, 'I don't want you in here, you should be with your family,' like, blah, blah, blah, so that's like really good... So I can hopefully be home sooner." "That's good," her partner responds.
Additionally, Komoroski describes the sheriff as "really nice." "Something similar happened, I guess, to someone that she knew personally. So she related to the story, and she was just really relating to me. She just seemed really sincere, and she really wants to help and so I’m really happy," Komroski was heard saying, adding, "She also is the one that got my mom and dad able to like visit me like in person — like through a glass, but like in person."
'Jamie Lee Komoroski is no exception'
According to the sheriff's office, the impression of special treatment that "has been surmised by some of Komoroskis' video calls" was untrue. In addition to releasing the calls, the sheriff's office also published a statement.
"Our staff, whether a detention deputy or the sheriff, will always work to ensure our jail residents are properly and appropriately cared for while they're in our facility. This includes taking steps to ensure they do not harm themselves. Jamie Lee Komoroski is no exception," the statement read, adding that when family members inquired about the welfare of a loved one, regardless of the accusations made against them, they took all reasonable steps to "ensure they are safe." It went on to say, "It is not unusual for accommodations to be made beyond our normal video visitation for family members, as long as there is an appropriate level of staffing to make it happen."
'Not accurate in regard to any sort of special treatment'
The sheriff's office also noted that Graziano frequently visited the agency's detention centers and that it was "not unusual for her to visit jail residents." The statement added that the sheriff met with her once and had a "brief" meeting the second time to introduce her to CCSO Mental Health Director William Malcolm, whose job was to visit the detention center's patients to verify that their varied needs were met, per ABC News 4.
The statement further stated, "What has been surmised by some from the Komoroskis' video calls is not accurate in regard to any sort of special treatment. Some may think the situation is special, but it is not."
