GBI investigating Clayton court fight that left inmate on life support
A Clayton County man remains hospitalized after a courtroom fight with sheriff’s deputies last week, authorities said Friday.
The GBI is investigating the struggle that led to Kevin Gerard Guerrier being on life support at a Riverdale hospital, according to Clayton County Sheriff Kem Kimbrough.
Kimbrough said South Regional Hospital staff told him that Guerrier's condition quickly deteriorated into an unconscious state after he was admitted.
“I was initially told that he was in the hospital for dialysis,” Kimbrough told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Then his condition worsened and the hospital was telling me that he was brain dead.”
When contacted by the AJC, the hospital's information desk could not confirm Guerrier's condition.
Guerrier, 26, was being led away from the courtroom after an outburst last week when a scuffle began with deputies, the sheriff said.
“There was an altercation in the courtroom,” Kimbrough said. “Deputies did have to restrain him.”
During the struggle, Guerrier was injured and taken to the hospital.
Kimbrough said there was a lapse in protocol that resulted in his learning the details of the incident only after Guerrier’s condition was revealed.
“If it shook my confidence, I’m sure it had to worry his family,” Kimbrough said. “That’s what led me to call the GBI.”
GBI spokesman John Bankhead confirmed e the agency is investigating the incident.
