GBI to Investigate Death of DeKalb Jail Recruit

DeKalb County Sheriff Jeffrey L. Mann has asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to look into the 2013 death of a jail recruit.

The request came following an investigation by WSB-TV that questioned circumstances surrounding the death of recruit George Ward on May 22, 2013, after two days of training.

In a statement Thursday afternoon Mann said:

“In the spirit of transparency and in a further effort to clarify concerns by Mr. Ward’s family, as well as to assure the public that the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office has acted appropriately, I have today conferred with Vernon Keenan, Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, who upon my request has agreed to conduct a formal investigation into this unfortunate incident. I remain confident that the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office’s response to the incident was appropriate and met with our high standards of professionalism.”

During training, Ward was forced a recruit to wear a pink hat and shirt after struggling with some of the physical challenges. The treatment came to light in a training video the TV station obtained through an open records request following a tip from DeKalb County sheriff’s office insiders who had concerns about Ward’s death.

The video prompted the county medical examiner to change Ward’s cause of death.

While the sheriff told WSB that recruits who need special attention often wear a clearly identifiable shirt or hat, Ward’s mother says deputies wanted to humiliate her son.

“I need someone to tell me how my son died,” Lorraine Fredericks told the TV station.

»Screenshot from WSB TV of George Ward during training with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s office.