If you go to a shelter for #Irma and you have a warrant, we’ll gladly escort you to the safe and secure shelter called the Polk County Jail https://t.co/Qj5GX9XQBi
— Polk County Sheriff (@PolkCoSheriff) September 6, 2017
Ahead of Hurricane Irma, a Florida sheriff put out an invitation via Twitter Wednesday for those with active warrants seeking shelter from the storm to come to the Polk County jail. It’s unclear if the sheriff intended to be funny, but not all found the invitation amusing – or appropriate.
The Polk County sheriff confirmed that officers would be at every shelter checking IDs. Critics – some of whom obviously don’t know how warrants work – immediately questioned whether those with warrants would simply be turned away from the shelters if they didn’t want to go to jail. The sheriff’s office responded by noting that the jail is a “secure shelter,” and again encouraged those with warrants to simply turn themselves in.
The sheriff’s office also confirmed that sexual offenders and child predators would not be allowed inside the shelters, which again was cause for concern among some. The sheriff’s response?
We cannot and we will not have innocent children in a shelter with sexual offenders & predators. Period. https://t.co/DlhqjqFrkM
— Polk County Sheriff (@PolkCoSheriff) September 6, 2017
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