COBB COUNTY, Ga. — Cobb County authorities said on Sunday that state agents will be called in to investigate the death of a jail detainee.
The Cobb County Sheriff's Office released a statement on Sunday announcing the death of a man in their custody around 9:30 a.m.
The sheriff's office said the man, whose name has not yet been released, was brought in on Saturday evening for criminal trespass and was placed in a holding cell for intake.
"He became destructive and combative and attacked deputies, causing them injuries," the sheriff's office said in a statement.
Sheriff Craig Owens has since requested the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the death. The sheriff's office said it is also awaiting the results of a pathology report.
"Given the detainee's aggressive behavior towards the deputies and medical staff and the sheer force with which he attacked them, there is reason to believe he may have been under the influence of a substance," the sheriff's office statement said.
Deaths at Cobb County Jail have been the subject of multiple 11Alive investigative reports, though the incidents occurred under the previous sheriff.
This is also the first death since Sheriff Owens changed the death investigation policy - and one of only a few the GBI has investigated at the Cobb County jail in the last 15 years.
Under the current policy, the GBI investigation is one of two that will take place and will determine if anything criminal occurred. The other will involve internal affairs which will determine if any policies or procedures were violated.