ATLANTA — Editor's note: The video above is from a previous report.
The six deputies charged in the death a man who died while in custody at the Fulton County Jail in 2018 waived their arraignment on Tuesday. Five of them appeared in the courtroom while the other faced the judge on Zoom.
In November, the state announced charges against deputies Arron Cook, Guito Dela Cruz, Omar Jackson, Jason Roache, Kenesia Strowder and William Whitaker.
Antonio May was arrested in September 2018 on a misdemeanor trespassing charge. According to a 2019 lawsuit filed by May's family, he was having a "mental health crisis" while on amphetamines, and was throwing rocks at the American Cancer Society building in Atlanta.
May was taken to Grady Hospital for medical clearance after his arrest, where he was diagnosed with substance abuse psychotic disorder. He was then booked in Fulton County Jail. His family never saw him alive again.
May was tased, and attorneys claimed that witnesses said guards "beat him with their fists and continuously sprayed a water hose in his face." The inmate died on the scene "in a pool of his own blood," the attorneys said in 2019.
The six jailers, who are out on bond, are facing charges for felony murder, aggravated assault, battery and two counts of violation of oath by public officer.
The previous judge in the case, Paige Reese Whitaker, announced in December she would recuse herself, saying she didn't believe a Fulton County judge should hear the case.
However, Tuesday's judge, Robert McBurney, informed the courtroom that he would not be removing himself from the case.