A Defuniak Springs resident captured video of a Walton County inmate riding on a sled normally used to haul debris while being pulled by another inmate driving a lawnmower.

They were supposed to be doing lawn care in front of the Walton County Health Department in DeFuniak Springs but instead used the equipment provided to them for a joyride.

“Obviously, it’s embarrassing,” Sheriff Michael Adkinson said.

Adkinson said what the video doesn’t show is the supervising deputy quickly stopping the fun.

“It’s only about eight to ten seconds long so at the end of the day I don’t know what could have been done differently from that stand point,” he said.

The inmates are part of the county jail’s trustee work program which is made up of mostly inmates who are facing misdemeanor charges.

“These are not high risk inmates out there. The reason for that is they cannot be watched, constant supervision. You know, an officer may have to use the restroom things of that nature,” Adkinson said.

Adkinson said the supervising deputy didn’t break any policies in this incident and depending on the inmates’ history in the program, they will receive additional training and continue training.

“We always deal with it as a training issue and make sure we hold ourselves accountable,” he added.

Adkinson pointed out the program provides a valuable service to the county and saves taxpayers a lot of money. In spite of how the incident appears, he added there was no reason for the community to be concerned.

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Previous story:

Two Walton County inmates created a new sport Wednesday when they were supposed to be doing lawn care in front of the Walton County Health Department in DeFuniak Springs.

As you can see on a video obtained by News 13 one inmate is riding on a sled normally used to haul debris while being pulled by another inmate driving a lawnmower.

Sheriff’s Officials say they are concerned about the incident. We’ll have their comments and more on this story tonight on News 13 at 6.