Elderly care task force disbanded before new DA takes office, CAVE director says

CAVE Director William Loomer

by Jozsef Papp

 

After three years, the Crimes Against the Vulnerable and Elderly task force will cease operations Wednesday. 

In a letter Tuesday, CAVE Director William Loomer announced that the task force will be disbanded effective Wednesday.

New District Attorney Jared Williams said Loomer was not authorized to close the task force by anyone in his incoming administration.

"If he was authorized to do so, it could have only come from the current administration. I do not take office until Jan. 1, 2021, and my team will be assessing all programs after that time," Williams said in a statement.

Williams, whose term begins Monday after he beat Republican incumbent Natalie Paine on Nov. 3 with 50.51 percent of the vote, shared with The Augusta Chronicle a Dec. 28 email exchanged between Loomer and himself. In those emails, Loomer told Williams he was planning to leave the position and felt Williams should let him know his plans for the task force.

Williams responded by telling Loomer to talk to Chief Michael Lanham and Investigator Samuel Long about the status of the task force's caseload. Williams indicated he wanted to work together to make sure the community's needs are met. Williams said the email exchange was the last conversation the two had about the future of the task force. 

Paine said the decision to disband the task force was the only choice the CAVE team had. She claims all the people who run the task force were told to leave and when attempts were made to transition to a new team, if there is one, they were declined. 

Loomer said state legislation requires the district attorney of a circuit be responsible for creating or maintaining teams such as CAVE. He said Williams has offered no transition strategy and indicated he intends to restructure the employment status of CAVE leadership.

"It is in the public interest that the public be notified that the Task Force is no longer a resource available to them. I sincerely hope that the incoming administration continues to serve the vulnerable and elderly in a way that fits their model," Loomer said in the letter. "My offer to help the new administration with this remains in place."

New District Attorney Jared Williams

Since being established in 2017 by Paine, the task force has handled 360 cases, made over 60 arrests, relocated more than 120 vulnerable residents to safety and trained hundreds of professionals in recognizing the signs of abuse. The task force is comprised of 25 "core" members across 30 agencies. 

"I want to personally thank every single member of this phenomenal team for their hard work, dedication and desire to help the most under-served demographic in our community – the elderly and disabled. The officers and staff were a torch in the darkness for so many forgotten victims," Loomer said in the letter. "I would also like to thank our partners from different agencies who made our mission possible and recognized the importance of this work."

The current cases will be transferred to other personnel in the district attorney's office, while the Facebook page will start to post resources and other tools for the public to use to protect themselves and others, Loomer's letter said.

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Elderly care task force disbanded before new DA takes office, CAVE director says