DeKalb County Cannot Train New Jail Employees

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Georgia’s law enforcement certification agency has forbidden the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office from training new recruits for its jail as a result of an investigation into the death of a recruit during training in 2013.

According to WSB-TV, the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) ruled on Monday that the office would not be allowed to conduct training programs until POST completes an investigation into the death of recruit George Ward and the DeKalb County District Attorney decides whether to file criminal charges.

George Ward died in May of 2013 during the second day of a grueling training course. Ward was forced to wear pink after he threw up in a trash can and was given harder physical exercises by the officers in charge of the training, video obtained by the station allegedly showed.

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A recruit in Ward’s class was quoted by a POST investigator during the Monday hearing. That recruit said that Ward needed his help to walk and fell down several times during a run. Most disturbingly, the recruit said that Ward was made to play dead in a mock funeral, WSB-TV said.

The officers involved, Sgt. Larresia Turner (Jackson) and Maj. Laura Rosco, are being investigated by POST and could face criminal charges for Ward’s death, WSB-TV said.

An earlier investigation by the GBI claimed that there was no wrongdoing involved in Ward’s death, but Ward’s family disagrees and could sue the county for $10 million.