UPDATE: Guard at Hamilton County Jail arrested and booked into Hamilton County Jail

photo The Hamilton County Jail is seen in this 2008 file photo.
photo Steven Ward

CHATTANOOGA - A corrections corporal for the Hamilton County Jail has been arrested and booked into the Hamilton County Jail.

45-year-old Steven Ward of Hixson was charged with official misconduct after he told a female inmate he would interfere with her records, according to a news release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond said the problem was caught quickly and that there is no reason to believe Ward knew the woman outside of his contact with her in the jail.

"This is something we're constantly on guard for because we know we have a responsibility to follow policy and procedure," he said. "This [alleged misconduct] was not a long-term thing."

He declined to comment on the nature of the misconduct between the inmate and Ward because the investigation is ongoing.

Special agents with the TBI began investigating Ward on Oct. 2 at the request of 11th District Attorney General Neal Pinkston, the release stated. The investigation was a joint operation between TBI and investigators with the sheriff's office.

Ward has been suspended without pay from his position at the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, the release said.

He was released on a $3,000 bond.

Story updated at 12:18 p.m. with additional information from Sheriff Jim Hammond and 1:32 p.m. to reflect Ward's release from jail.

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