Fulton County sergeant accused of stunning, kicking inmate at jail during chaotic incident

WSBTV.com News Staff
·3 min read

A Fulton County Sheriff’s sergeant is accused of hurting the very people he was sworn to protect, Georgia inmates.

Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Mark Winne obtained the indictment facing Sgt. Antwan Wiggins, who is accused of mistreating an inmate at the Fulton County Jail in June.

Winne also obtained body camera video of the incident, in which Wiggins is accused of stunning and kicking an inmate during a chaotic situation in one of the jails’ pods.

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Wiggins now been accused of aggravated assault, cruelty to inmates, violation of oath by a public officer and simple battery.

Wiggins attorney, Manny Arora, argues that Wiggins is a good employee who was trying the best he could during a difficult situation. Arora said Wiggins is not guilty of the charges he is facing.

“He’s incredibly upset. Lots of tears between him and his wife,” Arora said. “Thankfully, no one was hurt. And the discipline should come from the Sheriff’s Office for them to decide what should happen, and not a potentially 20-year jail sentence.”

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Arora said the inmate Wiggins is accused of assaulting had accused other inmates of stealing from him. Wiggins went into the pod, where chaos broke out.

“There’s always massive overcrowding at the jail and there’s a pretty severe understaffing,” Arora said. “On the date in question, he was the only officer working the floor.”

Arora said there were 48 inmates in the pod and several of the cell doors are broken.

“So there were a lot of guys in and out, and there is a lot of gang activity,” Arora said.

Part of the basis for Wiggins’ charges is that used the stun gun on the inmate twice, which was caught on body camera.

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“Was it unnecessary? That’s debatable, right,” Arora said. “In hindsight, when you go in there and you look at it in a vacuum, you can say, ‘You shouldn’t have done this., you shouldn’t have done that.’”

Arora said if you watch the entire videotape, people are yelling gang codes for fights about to break out.

Arora said Wiggins voluntarily made a statement to the grand jury, but he was still indicted.

“The only thing he can do is make a statement and answer questions,” Arora said. “He can’t present any evidence and me as his lawyer can’t ask him any questions or make any statements to the grand jury.”

Sheriff Labatt said Wiggins has been moved to desk duty and no longer has contact with inmates.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis issued a statement about the case, writing,

“Sheriff Labat and I are committed to ensuring that everyone is protected by the law and everyone is accountable to it. In cases involving treatment of inmates at the Fulton County Jail, jail staff have a difficult job but must follow the law. As the indictment approved by the grand jury states, we believe the law was violated in this case, and we intend to prove that at trial. I appreciate Sheriff Labat’s cooperation and commitment to ensuring the safety of everyone at the jail.”