Oconee County jailer fired for unjustified use of Taser on inmate

OCONEE COUNTY, Ga. - The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office say one of its jailers was fired this week for using a Taser on an inmate. An internal investigation revealed that the use of force was unjustified. 

According to the sheriff’s office, the probe found the jailer, whose name was not released, did not act with "any malintent, but the actions were not objectively reasonable, did not follow policy." 

"OCSO holds all employees to the highest standards, particularly regarding use of force procedures," said Sheriff James A. Hale Jr. "We take all use of force incidents very seriously, conducting thorough internal reviews to ensure our policies and the law are upheld. When I was notified of the results of this incident, I immediately terminated the employee and contacted the GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigations) to initiate a separate investigation." 

The GBI’s investigation is ongoing.