Harry Covert is the voice of the Alexandria sheriff’s department, a job that grants him access to the city’s jail and the high-profile inmates who are sometimes kept inside awaiting trial at the nearby federal court. He came to the job after years of being a bail bondsman and briefly a magistrate. Before that, he was reporter.
Which of the high-profile inmates stands out the most?
I’d have to say (former New York Times reporter) Judith Miller. She was not only a great reporter, but also a great inmate. She was a dignified lady. She helped install a computer New York Times donated to the library. She also organized the library. Being in jail is never pleasant, but can be acceptable. She did a good job with it. … I only saw the congressman (William Jefferson, D-La.) from a distance, but he was also a model prisoner. Most of the high-profile inmates like that are pretty calm people and adjust pretty well. How did you get to become the spokesman for the sheriff’s office?
Wherever I worked in and around the court system I always spotted wonderful stories, but I didn’t have anywhere to tell them. When Sheriff (Dana) Lawhorne was elected he asked me to be his spokesman and I jumped at the opportunity to tell those stories. … Once a newspaperman always a newspaperman. Do you find it difficult to balance the wants and needs of different media outlets?
As a former reporter my instinct is sometimes to want to tell everything. But there are instances when I can’t do that, when information isn’t finalized yet and it shouldn’t be out there. So I have to watch myself. They don’t muzzle me, but I have to try to use good judgment. Will your job change much if they bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to Alexandria?
The federal courts and U.S. Marshals will handle the information for that.
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