DeKalb jail guards took 3 hours to help Army vet who died behind bars, video reveals
Video: Veteran seen in jail before death
Video obtained by FOX 5 shows an Army veteran’s final moments alive inside the DeKalb County Jail. There's now growing scrutiny around 27-year-old Christon Collins’ death while incarcerated there in March. The footage appears to show it took hours for guards to act.
DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - There is growing scrutiny surrounding the death of an Army veteran while incarcerated in the DeKalb County Jail.
The family of 27-year-old Christon Collins obtained footage of his final moments alive inside the jail through an Open Records Request.
The footage appears to show that it took three hours for guards to act after Collins hit his head and lost consciousness. During that time, he was tended to only by other inmates.
His mother, Jonia Milburn, says he was experiencing a mental health crisis.
"My son isn’t coming back," Milburn said. "But there are so many other Christons out there that need help, and change needs to take place. Not just for veterans but for anyone dealing with mental health."
Milburn wants to see an independent agency take over the investigation. Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office declined to comment, citing possible litigation.
He had been in the DeKalb County Jail since Feb. 4.
Milburn also shared the medical examiner's report with FOX 5, which appears to show fentanyl and other drugs in Collins's system, but the toxicology report from Emory at the time of his death shows he was clean of all those drugs, including opioids.
Toxicology report contradicts Medical Examiner
The family of a veteran who died while in the DeKalb County Jail wants to hold the sheriff's office accountable for his death. According to the Medical Examiner's Office, 27-year-old Christon Collins had fentanyl and other drugs in his system at his time of death. Meanwhile, a toxicology report from Emory shows he was clean of all of those drugs, including opioids.
"There's so many unanswered questions that I have, so many things that I want to know," she said.
Another document she has been able to obtain shows that a detention officer failed to render aid, despite being CPR certified, and did not use an AED on him.
A second detention officer was on her cell phone during the incident, against jail policy.
"There was no urgency of anyone moving on when they found my son, there was no sense of concern," she said.
FOX 5 reached out to the sheriff’s office for an interview or statement, but was declined, citing possible pending or threatened litigation. Collin's family has not said if they plan to file a lawsuit.
Milburn says for the past three years, her son had been in and out of jail.
Christon Collins' mother.
In December 2023, Collins was arrested after reportedly running across the interstate and ramming his shoulder into a police car.
"Allegedly, he ran across 12 lanes of I-85. That clearly tells you something is wrong. You don't take that person to jail," Milburn said.
Officers charged Collins with obstruction of law enforcement and simple battery against police.
Milburn says she has tried to get her son some help. She called jail officials and state leaders to plead to get him transferred from the jail to the VA for treatment.
The Texas mother says, while it may be too late for her son, she wants to use his death to help others.
"My son, he can't come back, but there needs to be change, change in these laws, change in how police handle not just veterans, but mental health. It's real," she said.
FOX 5's Eric Mock and Denise Dillon contributed to this report.