Recently fired Richland jail director plans to contest his termination
Recently fired jail director Tyrell Cato intends to file a formal grievance following his termination from the Richland County jail.
Cato was fired on Sept. 9 for failing to successfully complete his probationary period. The termination came after revelations of misconduct while he was director of the Kershaw County jail.
Cato maintains that he was “wrongfully terminated,” said Beth Bowen, Cato’s attorney. They plan to file the grievance by the end of the week.
“We look forward to the actual evidence around his termination coming to light,” Bowen said.
If successful, the grievance would mean that Cato could be reinstated as the head of the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
Richland County did not respond to a request for comment.
Tyrell Cato took over the Richland County jail in June, shortly after he was fired from the Kershaw County Detention Center for “sexual misconduct in the workplace,” according to documents obtained by The State. A Kershaw County grievance committee upheld Cato’s termination, and determined that he had sexually harassed at least one woman who worked in his office.
Bowen was previously retained by Cato during his grievance process in Kershaw County. She is an attorney at Cromer Babb Porter & Hicks LLC, a Columbia-based employment law firm.
Despite being terminated by Kershaw County in May, Cato went on to take the job running the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center in Richland County. A subordinate initially filed paperwork saying that Cato had left voluntarily, which was not discovered until Cato assumed his position at the Richland County jail.
The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division has confirmed it is investigating “allegations of official misconduct involving former Kershaw County Detention Center Director Tyrell Cato.”
This story was originally published September 15, 2022 at 3:28 PM.