A man in police custody died in Barrow County after officers used a Taser on him, the GBI said Wednesday.
The incident happened Saturday about 2:30 p.m. when Auburn police took Charles Williams, 30, to the Barrow County jail, GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in an emailed statement Wednesday.
“Williams never made it in the jail,” Miles said. “A Taser was used during the incident.”
Williams was in custody on charges of battery and cruelty to children, Miles said.
The GBI said Williams was arrested after having a fight with another person at 148 Greentree Drive in Auburn.
“Williams became combative before making it into the jail,” according to the statement. “He fought with deputies for several moments and did damage to the patrol car he was transported in.”
Once in the sally port of the jail, he began kicking the interior of the patrol car and managed to move his handcuffs from behind his back to his front, GBI spokesman Jesse Maddox said.
After Williams was subdued, deputies reported he stopped breathing and they began emergency medical treatment and continued to do so until EMS workers arrived. Williams was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, Maddox said.
An autopsy was performed Tuesday at the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur, Maddox said, but the results are pending.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for Williams' funeral costs.
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