Clayton County sheriff returns to work one day after being indicted

March 20, 2017 Atlanta: Channel 2's Mark Winne reported that the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has put Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill's certification on probation for two years following an accidental shooting that injured a woman. The council voted to place his certification on probation for a period of 24 months. Authorities said Hill shot friend, Gwenevere McCord, at a model home in Gwinnett County in 2015. He pleaded no contest to the shooting. 

Here - Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill on the scene Friday, March 17, 2017 where two Clayton County girls missing since Thursday night were found Friday, just after Noon. The girls were found near a house on Flint River Road, about a half mile from where they went missing. Yes they were found safe but cold, police say. Clayton County police set up crime scene tape at 100 Flint River Road and investigators began processing an area in the back yard where the doghouse and wooden pen were. A Mattie's Call was issued for 3-year-old Imani Turner and 11-year-old Adormi Harris, who were last seen about 11 p.m. Thursday at the home in the 100 block of Sterling Ridge Drive. Although investigators didn't suspect foul play, the girls' disappearance launched an hours-long, door-to-door search using police dogs, Deputy Chief Joseph Woodall said.  Because it was so dark, authorities briefly suspended search efforts just after 6 a.m. Officials resumed the search shortly after daybreak.  Adormi's mother told police she went to check on the girls about midnight after putting them to bed about 11 p.m. She later discovered her purse, two cellphones, car keys and tablet had been taken, Sgt. Ashanti Marbury said. She also noticed a stop stick in place to secure the door had been removed and placed to the side.  Adormi suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and insomnia, police said. "Apparently, the 11-year-old was recently involved in some house fire at a previous location," Woodall said. "So that

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

Credit: JOHN SPINK / AJC

March 20, 2017 Atlanta: Channel 2's Mark Winne reported that the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council has put Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill's certification on probation for two years following an accidental shooting that injured a woman. The council voted to place his certification on probation for a period of 24 months. Authorities said Hill shot friend, Gwenevere McCord, at a model home in Gwinnett County in 2015. He pleaded no contest to the shooting. Here - Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill on the scene Friday, March 17, 2017 where two Clayton County girls missing since Thursday night were found Friday, just after Noon. The girls were found near a house on Flint River Road, about a half mile from where they went missing. Yes they were found safe but cold, police say. Clayton County police set up crime scene tape at 100 Flint River Road and investigators began processing an area in the back yard where the doghouse and wooden pen were. A Mattie's Call was issued for 3-year-old Imani Turner and 11-year-old Adormi Harris, who were last seen about 11 p.m. Thursday at the home in the 100 block of Sterling Ridge Drive. Although investigators didn't suspect foul play, the girls' disappearance launched an hours-long, door-to-door search using police dogs, Deputy Chief Joseph Woodall said. Because it was so dark, authorities briefly suspended search efforts just after 6 a.m. Officials resumed the search shortly after daybreak. Adormi's mother told police she went to check on the girls about midnight after putting them to bed about 11 p.m. She later discovered her purse, two cellphones, car keys and tablet had been taken, Sgt. Ashanti Marbury said. She also noticed a stop stick in place to secure the door had been removed and placed to the side. Adormi suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and insomnia, police said. "Apparently, the 11-year-old was recently involved in some house fire at a previous location," Woodall said. "So that

Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill was back at work Wednesday, a day after he was indicted on federal charges of violating the civil rights of four jail detainees last year.

The Clayton sheriff’s office posted a message on Hill’s Nixle page around 5 a.m. Wednesday that alerted residents that Ga. 138 was shutdown in both directions because of a fatal car accident.

The post showed a picture of Hill in a suit walking on a closed street where backed-up traffic could be seen in the distance. But the office did not indicate where or when the photo had been taken.

Hill pled not guilty to the civil rights violations in Magistrate Court on Tuesday. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia accused Hill of strapping detainees in restraining chairs for hours.

The charges also include restraining a Butts County landscaper who had been in a dispute over billing with a deputy in the Clayton Sheriff’s Office and with a 17-year-old who had been accused of vandalizing his home after getting into an argument with his mother.

Federal law allows use of a restraint chair to keep inmates from harming themselves or someone else, but the chairs must not be used as a form of punishment.

Hill’s attorneys insisted Wednesday that the sheriff did not cause harm to any of the defendants and that the restraints fell within proper guidelines.

“The protocol that is required for the use of a restraining chair was absolutely, unequivocally followed to the ‘T,” said Drew Findling, who, with co-counsel Marissa Goldberg, said emergency personnel were available in case there were any problems.

The indictment says that the restraints caused bodily harm and injury.

Hill’s representatives said what federal officials should focus on is police shootings of civilians across the nation, not Hill.

“The Department of Justice has made, what appears to be, a tactical decision, to take a back seat on civil rights violations regarding what we see now as the daily shooting of citizens,” he said.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine said at a press conference Tuesday that Hill was indicted because he allegedly violated the rights of people he was sworn to protect.

“Such abuses of power not only harm the victims, they also erode the community’s trust in law enforcement,” he said.