FORMER FULTON COUNTY JAILER CONVICTED ON CIVIL RIGHTS OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE CHARGES

April 17, 2010 (From late verdict April 16, 2010)

Jury Finds Defendant Guilty of Obstructing Two Separate Civil Rights Investigations

ATLANTA, GA – CURTIS JEROME BROWN, JR., 42, of Lithonia, Georgia, a former Fulton County Sheriff’s Detention Officer assigned to work in the security office at the Fulton County Jail, was convicted by a jury today in federal court in Atlanta of his role in obstructing two federal investigations – one involving an allegation of his use of excessive force against an inmate in 2007 and an investigation of a 2008 inmate death inside the jail. The jury acquitted BROWN on charges of using excessive force.

United States Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said, “Obstruction of justice by a law enforcement officer is a travesty of justice. This former Fulton County Sheriff’s Detention Officer has now been convicted of lying to the FBI and to a federal grand jury about events that occurred in the Fulton County Jail.� Many unanswered questions remain regarding the beating of one inmate and the death of another, but this jury has held the defendant accountable for his lies during the investigation of these events.

Ricky Maxwell, Acting Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta, said, “The FBI is committed to ensuring that the truth comes out in such allegations of civil rights abuses, particularly in the correctional setting involving inmate abuse by sworn law enforcement personnel.� While we understand the difficult nature of the correctional setting and its environment, we simply cannot tolerate such obstruction of our investigations by correctional staff.”

Fulton County Sheriff Theodore Jackson said, “The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to protecting the civil rights of persons in custody and will cooperate with federal authorities to aid in the prosecution of criminals who disrespect the badge.� In this case, the convicted man’s colleague came forward to report this heinous act and that person represents the philosophy of the Sheriff’s Office to uncover and eliminate this type of behavior.”

According to United States Attorney Yates and evidence presented during the trial:� On August 11, 2007, a Fulton County Jail inmate disrupted a headcount by shouting a crude comment to a female detention officer.� BROWN handcuffed the inmate behind the inmate’s back and assisted in moving the inmate to an administrative segregation area of the jail. Witnesses testified that while walking the inmate in a hallway that was not monitored by a video camera, BROWN stopped the inmate, admonished him, and then struck the inmate at least twice in his face. BROWN testified on his own behalf and admitted that he struck the inmate but claimed that the inmate made an aggressive move toward BROWN.

The assault caused the inmate to bleed from his mouth and left blood on the floor and wall.� A fellow detention officer testified that she was shocked by BROWN’s behavior and immediately reported his conduct to a superior officer.� Following the incident, BROWN wrote a memorandum to a supervisor which contained his false account of the incident.

Evidence at trial showed that in another incident in 2008, BROWN and three coworkers – former Detention Officers MITNEE JONES, DERONTAY LANGFORD and� Detention Officer Chantae Taylor – filed false incident reports omitting that jail staff had entered the cell of inmate Richard Glasco and engaged in a physical altercation with him a short time before Glasco was found unresponsive on the floor of his cell.�

According to the testimony at trial, BROWN, JONES and LANGFORD entered Glasco’s cell and used force to subdue Glasco, reportedly because Glasco was being loud and banging on his cell door and window. Approximately an hour after the group entered the cell, TAYLOR and LANGFORD discovered Glasco unresponsive and not breathing on the cell floor.� Glasco was transported to Grady Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Court documents state that at the time of his death, the inmate was housed in the medical unit of the jail due to a mental health condition that required medication.�� According to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s report, the inmate’s cause of death was “probable disrhythmia associated with acute psychotic episode and agitation.”

On January 21, 2010, a jury convicted JONES of her role in the obstruction of the investigation of Glasco’s death.� LANGFORD, who testified against JONES and BROWN, pleaded guilty on September 22, 2009 to obstruction of justice for his false testimony to a federal grand jury investigating the Glasco incident. JONES and LANGFORD are now awaiting sentencing by United States District Court Judge J. Owen Forrester.� Taylor, who cooperated with the federal investigation from the beginning, has not been charged.

Today the jury convicted BROWN of two separate counts of writing false incident reports with the intent to obstruct a federal investigation; making a false material statement about the Glasco incident to a the FBI, and obstruction of justice by making false statements to a federal grand jury investigating Glasco’s death.

BROWN faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison for each obstruction of justice count and up to five years in prison for his false statement to an FBI agent. BROWN also faces a maximum fine of up to $250,000 on each count. In determining the actual sentence, the Court will consider the United States Sentencing Guidelines, which are not binding but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the FBI, with the cooperation of the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant United States Attorneys Angela M. Jordan and Brent Alan Gray are prosecuting the case.

For further information please contact Sally Q. Yates, Acting United States Attorney, or Charysse L. Alexander, Executive Assistant United States Attorney, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney’s Office, at�(404)�581-6016.� The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.