Full Notification

Dear Governor Brian Kemp, 

I am Alan Parker Attorney At Law and the Legal Advisor for the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office.  I am writing to ask you to reconsider your decision to suspend Sheriff Victor Hill, based on the three-panel commission, who coincidentally broke the law in releasing the findings of the investigation. This act could poison a potential jury pool. They also failed by not doing a thorough and complete investigation and review of the facts. The commission did not call any witnesses and only took into consideration what the federal indictment stated, which was grossly inaccurate.  As a result, the information that they released illegally took information from the indictment and provided a report to you that was riddled with inaccuracies.  In failing to conduct a complete and thorough investigation, they did a disservice not only to you, but also to the citizens of Clayton County. These citizens relied on these three individuals to decide what potentially affects their daily way of life.  

The problem with the three-member review panel goes far beyond just releasing their report in violation of the law. 

The commission stated in their report on Page 1 Paragraph 4 that, “Notably, there is no evidence that any of these inmates offered any resistance, obstructed police, or behaved in any manner that would cause the Sheriff’s Office to have safety concerns and justify the use of the restraint chair”. 

In the same paragraph, they also say that “the committee acknowledges that prior behavior can be a factor in determining if an inmate is placed in a restraint chair as a preventative measure”.  Had the commission interviewed all parties involved as the law entitled them to do and considered their own statement above, they would have found that Sheriff Hill had knowledge of “prior behavior” of all four inmates that “would be a factor in determining if an inmate is placed in a restraint chair as a preventative measure”.

Inmate #1

Inmate Glen Howell claimed that he was not being paid what he wanted for yard work performed at one of our deputies’ home. Mr. Howell tore up the Deputy’s yard, made threats towards the Deputy, and began driving by the Deputy’s house continuously. Additionally, he went as far too even run the Deputy’s significant other off the roadway. The Deputy called the police twice and filed a report, but this still did not stop Howell from continuing to drive by his house.  When Sheriff Hill tried to see if he could calm the situation down, Howell began cursing and making threats towards him and continued to call the Sheriff’s phone after being told to stop.  As you can see, Sheriff Victor Hill had firsthand knowledge of Howell’s bizarre “prior behavior” that legally “can be a factor in determining if an inmate is placed in a restraint chair as a preventative measure”. 

Inmate #2

On February 3, 2020, Joseph Arnold was at a Wholesale Food Outlet in Forest Park when he engaged in a verbal argument with a 65-year-old woman and her 85-year-old mother as to who was next in line to be checked out. Joseph Arnold attacked Ms. Malone striking her in her head with his right arm, knocking her to the ground.  A few seconds later he attacked her again, (mind you this woman is 65+ years of age), striking her several times in the face/head with his fists.  Arnold then attacked her 80-year-old mother Ms. Mary Gardner. He yanked her out of an electric scooter buggy and threw her down to the ground causing visible injuries to her elbow as he pulled out clumps of her hair.  Ms. Gardner also sustained injuries to her stomach and rib cage, caused by the concrete floor he threw her down on.  This horrific act was witnesses and corroborated by two store employees.  Arnold also told Forest Park Detectives before they took out warrants for his arrest to get off his property and that if they came back, they had better bring more back up.  Sheriff Victor Hill had prior knowledge of all of this "prior behavior” that the three-panel commission acknowledged legally “can be a factor in determining if an inmate is placed in a restraint chair as a preventative measure”.   

Inmate #3

On April 27, 2020, Chrishon Hollins, who was 17 years of age at the time, was arrested for destroying his mother’s home because she would not upgrade his internet. Hollins busted out all the front windows of his mother's house, cracked the windshield of her car, threw chairs and objects out of the house on the front lawn, knocked over her refrigerator, and broke her dining room table and coffee table.  Hollins also took the trashcan from in the house and threw it in the front yard.  Sheriff Victor Hill had knowledge of Hollin’s violent “prior behavior that the commission acknowledged, “can be a factor in determining if an inmate is placed in a restraint chair as a preventative measure”.   

Inmate #4

On April 27, 2020, Joseph Harper, was arrested by the Jonesboro Police Department following one of many domestic disturbances, where he kicked in his grandmother’s door and threatened his sister. Harper has a history of using his hands on his mother, grandmother, and sister.  After his arrest, at the Jonesboro police station, Harper fell out of a chair after pretending to pass out. Harper was transported to Southern Regional Medical Center for evaluation. While being treated at the hospital, Harper refused treatment and left the hospital escaping police custody. When Jonesboro police officers later re-captured Harper outside his grandmother's house, Harper resisted arrest and fought with officers.  Upon arrival at the jail, a ramp call had to be made to get assistance from jail officers to bring Harper into the jail.  Harper was ordered to be placed in the restraint chair by jail officers NOT Sheriff Hill, yet Hill is charged with putting Harper in the chair for no apparent reason.  Sheriff Hill can be seen and heard in a video having a stern talk with both Harper and Collins and can be heard on the video telling his officers to let them out of the chair early.

These facts severely question the legitimacy of the review commission’s findings and draw serious doubt as to whether the review commission conducted an impartial investigation or simply adopted the findings of the Federal Investigation that was poorly constructed and bias at best. The three-panel commission contradicted themselves “by acknowledging that “prior behavior can be a factor in determining whether an inmate is placed in the restraint chair as a preventative measure” and then dismisses this factor which would have supported Sheriff Hill’s decision to use the restraint chair as a preventative measure. 

It is also important to note that Joseph Harper, Chrishon Hollis, and Joseph Arnold never made an outcry of pain or bodily injury to anyone.  These three inmates were solicited during the investigation. Ironically, Joseph Arnold is still at the Clayton County Jail and is still in the custody under Sheriff Victor Hill. He was in custody for nearly 15 months before Hill’s suspension from office.  If the Federal Government honestly believed that Arnold was in danger from Sheriff Hill for inflicting pain and bodily injury, why did they allow Arnold to stay in Sheriff’s Hill jail? He remains in the custody of the Clayton County Jail to this day.

Another falsity in the committee’s report is that the Sheriff’s Department did not coordinate with the law enforcement in Butts County when they went to arrest Glen Howell.  Clayton County Sheriff’s Deputies did call Butts County for assistance and the body cam footage proves this.  This is truly relevant because it shows that the investigation by the review panel was not thorough or accurate.

It is also disturbingly compelling evidence that Sheriff Victor Hill has been indicted for causing "pain and bodily injury" to four pre-trial detainees even though there is no such evidence to show pain or bodily injury on any of these four inmates. No pain and bodily injuries ever occurred or were reported to medical professionals. The acting US Attorney General said in his own press conference that if they cannot find that there was pain or bodily injury, then the charges could be reduced.  Since there is no evidence of pain or bodily injury, why was Sheriff Hill indicted on felony charges to begin with? The Federal Grand Jury process is conducted in secrecy, and there are no Federal Rules of Evidence in play.  Also, there is no Cross Examination or vetting of the information provided to the Grand Jury by the Federal prosecutor making it, all one-sided.

There is also a glaring discrepancy on how the Federal Government have chosen to indict Sheriff Hill on a matter where there is neither documented proof of pain or bodily injury nor corroborating medical records.  However, there are other incidents in the State of Georgia and other jurisdictions across the country where there was pain and bodily injuries to include death with no action from the Federal Government against any other sitting Sheriff or Sheriff’s employees who were alleged to have committed atrocious acts. Sheriff Hill is the first in the nation to be charged in this manner while 98.9 % of these matters were disposed of by a Civil Lawsuit. The more serious charges resulted in a complete acquittal.

• 2013, Georgia - Civil Lawsuit, Judge granted summary judgement, in favor of Sheriff and employees, in one instance the inmate’s nose was broken while in the Restraint Chair, No F.B.I. involvement, No Federal Grand Jury, No Federal Charges, No Federal Indictment. Sheriff Not

• 2016, Georgia - Sheriff sued for a man that died in a jail cell, after brawl with deputies and strapped in Restraint Chair, Civil Lawsuit, No F.B.I. involvement, No Federal Charges, No Federal Indictment. Sheriff Not Suspended.

• 2017, Tennessee- Inmate was tased while in restraint chair, resulting in Civil Lawsuit only, state criminal charges only, No F.B.I. involvement, No Federal Grand Jury, No Federal Charges, No Federal Indictment. Sheriff Not Suspended.

• 2016, St. Louis - Inmate placed in restraint chair for 5 Days. Forced Fed in chair, defecated on self in chair, placed in chair in lieu of medical treatment, Civil Lawsuit only, No F.B.I. Involvement, No Federal Grand Jury, No Federal Charges, No Federal Indictment. Sheriff Not Suspended.

• 2018, Michigan - Federal Civil Right Lawsuit only, Inmate strapped in restraint Chair, struck in head several times by deputies and tased in groin. No F.B.I. Involvement, No Federal Charges, No Federal Grand Jury, No Federal Indictment. Sheriff Not Suspended.

• 2018- Wilke Barre- Civil Lawsuit only, Inmate placed in restraint chair, Tased, restrained and brutalized, cleared of criminal charges by local DA, No F.B.I. involvement, No Federal Charges, No Federal Grand Jury, No Federal Indictment. Sheriff Not suspended.

In stark contrast, all four inmates that Sheriff Victor Hill is accused of causing "Pain and Bodily Injuries" to were checked by a nurse prior to being placed in restraint chair.  The four inmates were checked every 15 minutes by officers and kept no longer than the manufacturer recommended time of four (4) hours.  They were also medically cleared upon being released from the restraint chair and all of this is documented. 

The point is with the severity of these listed cases that involve videos, pictures, and medical records, the courts still dismissed the lawsuits granting the defendants summary judgement.  Surprisingly enough, in one case it was determined that the Grand Jury was lied to by the Investigators, resulting in the entire case being completely thrown out. This is very much like what we have here in Sheriff Hill's Grand Jury Hearing. The question must be asked then, how did the Federal Grand Jury return a True Bill indictment? They have no documented proof of Pain and Bodily Injury and No medical records to corroborate the injuries unless they were misled by federal prosecutors. 

Political Motivation 

Many ask how did the Feds get involved with this to begin with?  I am sure everyone can recall when the Clayton County District Attorney’s office brought a 37-count indictment against Sheriff Hill after he announced that he would seek re-election against former Sheriff Kem Kembrough. 

This action was spearheaded by Chief DA Investigator Dennis Baker who is a longtime political enemy of the Sheriff.  To give an example of how ridiculous these indictments were, 5 of the counts accused Sheriff Hill of stealing his assigned police car 5 times in span of 1 month.  Dennis Baker who is still with the Clayton County DA’s office is now a F.B.I. task force member.  It is no coincidence that he is in the middle of spearheading this restraint chair federal investigation that led to the 4-count false indictment of Sheriff Hill. 

Butts County Sheriff Gary Long who claimed he was helping inmate Glen Howell protect his rights is a former Deputy with the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office during the Kembrough’s administration. When Deputies went to Butts County to arrest Glen Howell, they called the Butts County Sheriff’s Office for help.  Deputies assisted until Sheriff Long realized it was Glen Howell and interfered with assistance from that point.  It was later found that Howell’s family are big financial supporters of Sheriff Gary Long.

Ironically, there was an Inmate #5 in this investigation until the Federal Government decided his political ties would taint their case. Cleveland Jackson was named in the search warrant as a person who should not have been placed in the restraint chair by Sheriff Hill. Sheriff Hill was not indicted for recommending Jackson be restrained even though Jackson displayed the same behavior just as bizarre as the other four inmates.

Why? Cleveland Jackson was an open a supporter of Robert Hawes who was a candidate for Sheriff in the last election against Sheriff Hill.  Robert Hawes who is a former Clayton County Deputy Sheriff was fired and arrested by Sheriff Hill for making a false report for two stolen/missing sheriff’s office firearms and forging a citation for an exotic dancer who was once in his custody. Hawes' wife was also arrested for harassing communications after repeatedly sending emails to Sheriff Hill after she was told to stop. The restraint chair initial complaint to the F.B.I. was done by the Hawes family and Cleveland Jackson. Sheriff Hill was not charged with restraining Jackson for exhibiting bizarre violent behavior because this would link the origin of the investigation to a political candidate and reveal the political motivation of this case.

Governor, based on how the three-panel commission illegally and unprofessionally rendered an inaccurate investigation, I ask on behalf of the citizens of Clayton County that you consider releasing the suspension of Sheriff Hill until he is exonerated from these politically motivated false charges. 

The citizens of Clayton County have petitioned you on this matter because they feel safer with their Sheriff at the helm. 

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that in his short absence, there has been a verifiable difference in the crime on the streets, and the safety in the jail.

Thank you, Governor, for your consideration in this matter.

Alan Parker 

Attorney At Law