ATLANTA — An ex-detention officer at the North Fulton Jail has pleaded guilty in a federal excessive force case for choking a detainee at the facility last year.
The Department of Justice announced that former Officer Clark with the Fulton County Sheriff's Office pleaded guilty to violating the detainee's civil rights while she was being booked into the Alpharetta jail in June 2023.
A sentencing for Clark will be scheduled at a later date, a DOJ release said.
“This conduct was cruel, abusive and violated Fulton County Sheriff’s office policies that clearly restrict use of chokeholds and neck restraints," said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, who head's the DOJ's Civil Rights Division. "The Justice Department will prosecute officials who violate the civil rights of people held in our jails and prisons by using excessive or deadly force.”
Bodycam and surveillance videos in the choking incident were released last year.
The videos show a woman being processed at the jail, handcuffed. She is verbally aggressive during the processing, yelling expletives and insults at officers and at one point telling them, "Call my mom now, or I will f****** hurt you," and, "I will hurt you."
A few minutes into the processing, with the woman struggling against officers, an officer not identified in the video grabs the woman by the back of her neck with one hand to face her toward a camera.
"Do not -" she starts, with the officer then putting her into a choke, placing a second hand around the front of her neck.
"That's a chokehold, so I advise you to cooperate," the officer tells her. "Hold your face, before you lose your breath. The choice is yours."
The chokehold is held in place for about 11 seconds before the officer releases the woman and she collapses to the ground. It appears she loses consciousness briefly, before being roused back up.
The processing then continued with the woman being brought to a medical office. She is eventually taken to an ambulance and transported away from the facility.
The DOJ release issued on Clark's guilty plea noted that "at the time that Clark choked the victim, the victim was handcuffed and posed no threat to officers or anyone else."
Clark had been with the sheriff's office since 2016. Local charges also included violation of oath by a public officer.
“Clark’s conduct in abusing a handcuffed inmate by strangling her is reprehensible,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Thankfully, Clark’s actions do not reflect the diligence and seriousness with which the majority of detention officers fulfill their roles each day in helping to secure our jails and protect the welfare of detainees.”
Clark faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, according to the DOJ.