A former Fulton County detention officer, Monique Clark, 32, has been sentenced to 48 months in prison for violating the civil rights of a detained woman by using excessive force.
Clark pleaded guilty in March to strangling the handcuffed woman into unconsciousness during intake processing at the Fulton County North Annex Jail despite knowing she posed no threat.
“This defendant’s violent assault on a handcuffed arrestee rendered her unconscious and is simply inexcusable,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “As we have seen too many times, chokeholds and neck restraints can prove deadly. Using high-level force against a person in custody who poses no threat is plainly illegal, but using such a dangerous technique gratuitously is especially disturbing. The Justice Department is committed to holding law enforcement officers accountable for use of excessive force and to protecting the rights of people in custody.”
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“Instead of carrying out his mission to ensure the safety and security of detainees in his custody at the Fulton County Jail, Clark abandoned his oath of office when he used excessive force to strangle a pre-trial detainee without cause,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan for the Northern District of Georgia. “Law enforcement officers who violate their professional duties are not above the law. It is now Clark who will serve time in prison as a result of his reprehensible conduct.”
The FBI and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office’s Office of Professional Standards conducted the investigation, underscoring the commitment to holding law enforcement accountable for excessive force and protecting the rights of those in custody.
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