Inmate involved in incident with female nurse at Fulton Jail - KMSP-TV

Just one day after an employee of the Fulton County Jail expressed concerns about safety, sources tell FOX 5 that an inmate grabbed a nurse on the maximum security floor.

A murder defendant lunged at the nurse and grabbed her, sources inside jail told FOX 5's Morse Diggs.

Jail management confirmed that  an incident occurred, but said that the inmate did not touch the woman. They said that he got close to the woman, who was startled and began screaming. Officials said that an officer was not in the room with the nurse, but was nearby.

On Thursday, a nurse who works at the jail told FOX 5 that female staff and officers are working under a climate of fear trying to deal with male inmates who are becoming more and more aggressive. She told of instances where she was left alone with inmates who threatened to sexually assault her.

Fulton County Commissioner Robb Pitts said that he couldn't envision any scenario in which a female employee is left alone with inmates. He said that he is very concerned about the safety of female employees, civilians and officers.

The medical detail deployed at the Fulton jail is handled differently than other jails, Morse reports.

In Cobb and DeKalb counties, nurses are not put in an open area where there can be dozens of inmates at a time. Jail officials in those counties said that medications are dispensed through a narrow door slot and that officers accompany nurses at all times.

Pitts said that he would like to see changes in how Fulton deploys its female staff.

"It needs to be corrected and it needs to be corrected immediately," Pitts said.

Fulton County Jail officials said no charges have been filed in the incident on Friday, but said it is under investigation.