Georgia sheriff Victor Hill defended himself Thursday at his US federal trial where he has been charged with violating four detainee’s civil rights. Hill was indicted in 2021 for depriving liberty without due process of the law which includes the right to be free from use of unreasonable force by law enforcement officers.
Hill worked for the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), which was were responsible for staffing, maintaining, and running the Clayton County Jail. CCSO had a “Inmate Restraint Chair” policy which allowed officers to use this means of confinement if an inmate exhibited violent or uncontrollable behavior. Hill allegedly used the restraint chair as punishment and some victims were restrained for up to 10 hours.
This policy was intended to prevent self-injury, injury to others, or property damage when all other control techniques failed. The policy directly states that this restraint would “never be authorized as a form of punishment” and is consistent with the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
According to Courthouse News, Hill told the court that he used the restraint chair as a preventative measure as opposed to a reaction to a detainee’s behavior. Hill also stated that based on the destructive nature of one detainee’s crime he felt it was an indication of potential future violence. Hill also claimed that some of the victims had been exhibiting noncompliant conduct, but there was no video evidence to corroborate these statements.