A former DeKalb County jail guard has been charged with using excessive force against inmates because he “tased inmates without justification,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta.
Former Sgt. Dwight Hamilton is also charged for writing false reports about the incidents and was arraigned Thursday in federal court, acting U.S. Attorney John Horn said.
“Detention officers have a difficult job as they maintain order and protect inmates in our county jails and prisons,” Horn said. “But under no circumstances can we allow a detention officer to abuse his power to commit violent and unnecessary assaults on inmates.”
Hamilton, 51, of Atlanta, worked as a supervising detention officer at the DeKalb County jail from 2005 to 2012, and at least twice in January 2012 he injured inmates by using his Taser multiple times without legal justification, Horn said. Tasers are weapons that use electrical shock to subdue.
In the first report, Hamilton falsely reported that the inmate “made a step toward” him immediately before Hamilton tased him, Horn said in an email. In the second report, Hamilton omitted that he tased the inmate more than three times, Horn said.
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