Lee County Jail Incident Resulting in Corrections Officer’s Firing and Assault Charges – CNAW 2 with Colin Scroggins

An incident at the Lee County Jail resulted in a corrections officer being fired and charged with assault.

Lee County Sheriff’s Department of Corrections employees were collecting laundry from inmates in Wing F of the jail when, on June 22, 2024, an inmate escaped from his cell, ran past officers and ran along the cell block.

“The corrections officers pursued the inmate and were able to re-arrest him after deploying a Taser. The inmate was then handcuffed and placed on the floor where he continued to fight with the corrections officers,” the sheriff’s office said. “During the struggle on the floor, in an attempt to get the inmate to comply, the corrections officer punched him in the face.”

The prisoner was examined by medical staff at the Detention Center, who found that he had a swollen lip but had no other injuries.

“An investigation into the use of force by a corrections deputy was conducted and it was determined that agency policy was violated,” they added. “The Corrections Deputy was terminated from his job as of June 24.”

A warrant charging former corrections deputy Dalton J. Dunlap, 30, with misdemeanor assault was issued and served June 28. He posted bond and was released.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones stated, “Our agency personnel uphold the standards of professional conduct in all their actions. The conduct demonstrated in this case is a clear violation of professional ethics and established agency policies and will not be tolerated.”