Ex-Fulton County jailer sentenced to prison for strangling handcuffed female inmate
Former Fulton County detention officer Monique Clark was arrested for using excessive force. (Credit: Fulton County Sheriffs Office)
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. - A former Fulton County detention officer has been sentenced to years in prison for strangling a woman in handcuffs as she was being booked.
Monique Clark, 32, had pleaded guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law in March.
The victim was reportedly arrested by Alpharetta officers and brought to the Fulton County North Annex Jail on June 5, 2023, where Clark was on duty.
As the victim was being booked into the jail, court documents say Clark placed his hands around her neck and choked her until she lost consciousness. The victim was in handcuffs at the time and "posed no threat to officers or anyone else."
"This defendant’s violent assault on a handcuffed arrestee rendered her unconscious and is simply inexcusable," said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke for 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 Department of Justice is committed to holding law enforcement officers accountable for use of excessive force and to protecting the rights of people in custody."
The Fulton County Sheriff's Office has a strict policy against chokeholds and neck restraints except in instances of imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury.
"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. "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."
A U.S. District judge sentenced the Stone Mountain man to four years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.