Victor Hill trial: Opening statements to begin in federal trial of suspended Clayton County Sheriff

ATLANTA - Opening statements begin Thursday in the trial of suspended Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill.

A jury was seated on Wednesday. 

Hill was indicted in 2021 by a grand jury on allegations that he violated the constitutional rights of detainees in Clayton County Jail. Indictments allege Hill strapped detainees to restrain chairs for hours, amounting to painful punishment. 

Hill pleaded not guilty and maintained the charges brought against him are politically motivated. 

The trial could last two to three weeks.

Day 1: Jury selection in Victor Hill trial

The jury pool represents a cross-section of people from across metro Atlanta. 

Attorneys for both sides focused their questions to the pool of potential jurors on their feelings about law enforcement and accusations of police misconduct. 

There were also questions about media coverage of the case, and a judge told potential jurors not to seek out coverage of the trial if they're selected.

Hill sat in court with his attorney, Drew Findling.

An artist's sketch from inside a federal courtroom during the trial of suspended Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill on Oct. 12, 2022.

Why was Victor Hill indicted?

U.S. Attorneys announced in April 2021 that a grand jury indicted Hill on allegations he violated the rights of four detainees in Clayton County Jail in 2020. 

The indictment alleges he and deputies confided men into restraint chairs for hours. One detainee allegedly urinated in the restraint chair after they were left restrained for hours and "not allowed to go to the restroom."

"The indictment alleges specifically that without justification Hill ordered his employees to strap the detainees into a restraint chair and keep them there for hours in violation of their Constitutional Rights," U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine said.

A few months later, prosecutors identified a fifth victim in another indictment. The document claimed a deputy covered a detainee's face with a hood and struck him in the face until he bled. 

Gov. Brian Kemp suspended Hill in June 2021 at the recommendation of a review panel. The suspension will last until the termination of his term or when his case is closed, whichever comes first.

Hill's attorneys have contended the charges against the sheriff are politically motivated.   

They do not reference in any specific way that Sheriff Hill either himself or request of another touched or in any way had physical contact with this person," Findling said.   

FOX 5 Atlanta learned Hill was the target of a federal investigation into allegations of excessive force at the jail in June 2020, shortly after he was elected to his fourth term.

Who is Victor Hill?

Hill became Clayton County's first African American sheriff when he was originally elected in 2005. He served non-consecutive stints as sheriff from 2005 to 2008, followed by his current run beginning in 2013.

Hill was briefly a Georgia state representative prior to being elected sheriff. 

In an unrelated incident, Hill was indicted by a grand jury in Gwinnett County for a shooting in 2015. Hill claimed he was practicing police tactics with a woman when he accidentally shot her. 

A judge sentenced Hill to 12 months of probation and a $1,000 fine after he entered a plea of No Contest. The woman shot in the incident told police the shooting was an accident and Hill should not have been criminally charged.