The Walker County Commission said Monday it will continue to cooperate with federal investigators as the probe continues into the embattled sheriff’s office.

At a packed meeting Monday – with many attendees holding signs in support of Sheriff Nick Smith and the deputies – commissioners went into executive session for all but a few minutes of the hour-plus-long meeting and emerged only for Commission Chairman Steven Miller to read a prepared statement:

“On multiple occasions, the Walker County Commission has been asked why the commission is not active on matters involving the sheriff’s department.

The Walker County Commission Authority is limited, more specifically the commission is responsible for maintaining county buildings, roads, and approving the county’s budget.

Beyond budgetary issues, the commission has no authority to govern a constitutionally elected official.

As such, Sheriff Smith is entitled to operate his department as he sees fit.

The commission remains committed to the interest of justice and will to cooperate fully with federal authorities throughout the remainder of their investigations.”

The meeting followed last week’s federal indictments against two Walker County Sheriff’s Office deputies – Carl Carpenter and Matt Handley – claiming they abused inmate Tony Mitchell by kicking and pushing him when he arrived at the Walker County Jail.

Mitchell died two weeks after he was arrested, and court records have chronicled the horrific abuse he suffered.

On Friday night, Smith deactivated his personal and the sheriff’s office Facebook pages, saying he no longer sees a reason to “provide a platform for hate, negativity, and vitriol.”

“Hate is so easy nowadays,’’ Smith wrote in a Friday night statement on the sheriff’s office mobile app, which most police departments and sheriff’s offices also have and use to disseminate news.

“With the ability to hide behind a screen or a fake profile, it’s too easy a temptation to avoid,’’ Smith wrote. “But a hateful world isn’t one I want to operate in.”

Over the past seven months, a dozen of employees who worked at the Walker County Jail – including jailers and contract nurses – have been charged in connection with the events surrounding Mitchell’s death.

Many have already pleaded guilty, and others have agreed to do so.

Carpenter and Handley are charged with deprivation of rights. Additionally, Handley is charged with lying to a grand jury to cover up their alleged abuse.

The pair was set to be arraigned on the charges March 13.

However, Carpenter’s lawyer has asked for a continuation, stating in court documents Carpenter has been admitted to the psychiatric ward at the VA hospital in Tuscaloosa “due to an acute mental breakdown.”

The attorney said Carpenter’s diagnosis and prognosis reports are still pending. Efforts to reach the attorney for comment were unsuccessful.

A ruling on the attorney’s motion has been issued, but it has not been made public in court records, but the court docket shows the arraignment will be set at a later date.

Mitchell’s death has been a lightning rod for Smith, who is seeking re-election for a third term.

Mitchell was arrested Jan. 12, 2023, during a mental health welfare check at his home. Authorities said he fired a gun while deputies were on his property.

Deputies responded that Thursday afternoon to Lost Creek Road near Carbon Hill on a welfare check after family members of Mitchell feared he could harm himself or someone else.

Mitchell, 33, died Jan. 26, 2023, at Walker Baptist Medical Center.

The county coroner’s death certificate listed Mitchell’s manner of death as homicide and listed the causes as hypothermia and sepsis “resulting from infected injuries obtained during incarceration and medical neglect.”