DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Three DeKalb County Sheriff's Office employees’ have lost their state certification because of a Channel 2 Action News investigation.
The jailers are linked to George Ward. He died in 2013. The Virgin Island native moved to Georgia to join DeKalb County's Sheriff's Office.
In 2014, Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Erica Byfield uncovered video that showed jailers forced him to wear a pink hat and shirt and called him names like, "Pinky".
We have now learned Georgia's Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (POST) voted to revoke Laura Roscoe, Larresia Turner-Jackson and Donnie Burns' law enforcement certifications.
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They can appeal.
POST's case files just became public.
Byfield and Channel 2 Investigative Producer Terah Boyd obtained the documents. They included thousands of pages of interviews, emails, photos and audio recordings.
They found pictures of the hat and shirt the jailers forced Ward to wear.
We now know the Georgia Bureau of Investigation collected the shirt and hat as evidence 9 days after Channel 2's initial investigation aired.
Ward's mother, Lorraine Fredericks, did not know her son was singled out until Byfield sat at her kitchen table in the Virgin Islands and showed her video of his final hours.
On the phone Thursday, she was furious to learn the Sheriff's Office personnel stashed the pink clothing in a closet.
"I'm very upset right now because at the end of the day, they lied about everything, and to know that they had that shirt," she said.
In addition to the pending revocations, our reporting led the county's medical examiner to change Ward's manner of death from "natural" to "undetermined," and POST temporarily suspended the Sheriff's Office's ability to train recruits.
Sheriff Jeffery Mann declined to speak to Byfield on camera about Roscoe, Turner-Jackson and Burns.
He issued the following statement: "I am certain that the matters leading to these decisions will be resolved to the Council's satisfaction and the recommendations will be rescinded. I am extremely disappointed with the Council's recommendation in each case, as I believe that these well-decorated, dedicated veteran officers acted appropriately. Each employee currently maintains P.O.S.T. certifications and, as such, remains on active duty with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office in the positions of Field Division Commander, Deputy Sheriff Sergeant Training Coordinator, and Deputy Sheriff Sergeant, Field Division, respectively."
The sheriff added Roscoe, Turner-Jackson and Burns will appeal.
POST rules require they appeal within 30 days.
A fourth jailer's file is still under review.
A spokesperson with DeKalb County's District Attorney's Office said the criminal case is still open.
Cox Media Group
