Mentally ill Cobb County inmate sues after video reveals punches, choking while seeking medical treatment

MARIETTA - The mother of a mentally ill inmate is speaking out after seeing her son, shackled and cuffed in the custody of Cobb County sheriff's deputies, being punched and held for nearly a minute in a chokehold while seeking medical care. 

Christi Carducci told the FOX 5 I-Team who broke this story, "I hope that by speaking out, I can help others hold on to hope."

The backstory:

William Carducci, 27, has been diagnosed as schizophrenic and has been declared by the court incompetent to stand trial. He was arrested for assault and other charges in November 2022. Since then, he has been in the Cobb County Jail, much of that time waiting for a bed in a mental health facility. After the I-Team uncovered the video, his mother reports her son was moved to a healthcare facility in South Georgia.

Carducci was taken on Feb. 3 to a Marietta hospital for what his lawyer calls a minor infection. The camera's bird's eye view clearly shows his hands cuffed and attached to a waist chain, and his ankles shackled. He stands up and walks toward the door. Pretty quickly, two deputies grab him. There doesn't appear to be a struggle by the 27-year-old inmate as he is quickly overpowered and pressed against the door. 

Carducci, through his attorney, put the Cobb County District Attorney's office on notice that they plan to sue the Sheriff's Office for $3.5 million for mistreatment of a man in their care.

Dig deeper:

Attorney Scott Anderson represents Mr. Carducci. 

"No matter what he said, he's, he's shackled, hands and feet. And there appears to be three of them, plus a security guard," he said.

But in seconds, a deputy begins to hit him. The restrained inmate is punched six times. Soon after that, the same deputy puts Mr. Carducci in a chokehold for 56 seconds, potentially depriving him of oxygen. Mr. Carducci is then lifted to the bed and the video ends. 

This photographic revelation is why Anderson sent notice to the county of a $3.5 million lawsuit over the treatment of his client. 

"The next thing that comes to mind is ‘Despicable.’ I mean there was - there was no reason for that. He offered no resistance," he said. 

Carducci's records show he is mentally ill and had previously spent years in a mental health facility before his arrest. He was charged in 2022 with attacking family members and faces multiple felonies. He was declared incompetent to stand trial and ordered to be moved to a mental health facility. That was more than a year ago.

"So that's been the plan all along. Like, hey, he needs to be in a mental health facility, not where he currently is," his attorney said.

What they're saying:

Caducci's mother wrote to the I-Team after seeing this video of how the Cobb County system was managing her unwell son. 

Since the report aired, "My son has been transferred to a mental health hospital, where he is finally receiving the care he so desperately needs," Christi Carducci wrote.

As painful as this was to watch, she is hopeful this helps others, like her son, who she calls Wil.

"I know there are many more mentally ill individuals who are incarcerated, often without anyone to advocate for them," she wrote.

Attorney Scott Anderson hopes this is an out-of-character moment for the law enforcement agency.

"I mean, again, I think I said earlier, they are some of the best in the state. You don't expect to see this sort of thing from them. And I'm just, I'm completely shocked by what I've seen here." 

The other side:

The Cobb County Sheriff's Office won't comment on what is now an open investigation.