Three Harnett County detention officers charged in excessive force investigation

Three Harnett County detention officers were fired and face criminal charges after an internal and SBI investigation into the alleged mistreatment of an inmate in late 2025.
Posted 5/4/2026, 7:00:34 PM Updated 5/4/2026, 8:00:07 PM

Breaking news this hour

3 Harnett County Detention Center officers were fired after they

were charged in an investigation into excessive force allegations

Adam Isbell Joseph Collins are charged with 1 count each

of assault and battery

Lenora Dawson is charged with 1 count of injury of

a prisoner by a jailer

These relate to 2 incidents with 1 inmate at the

Detention center at the end of December

Isbell is accused of spraying the inmate with pepper spray

and hitting him in the face inside a cell

Collins is accused of hitting the inmate in the head

and face with a pepper spray can inside a decontamination

room

Dawson is accused of enabling Collins as the supervisor on

duty

All three detention officers are facing misdemeanor charges and have

posted bond