SHERIFF’S DEPT. NEWS RELEASE:
“In the wake of a former inmate’s announcement of a lawsuit against Hall County, Sheriff Gerald Couch and several Hall County jail officers, Sheriff Couch is asking the community to keep in mind there is another side to what the attorneys of Dewon Greer are alleging.
The Georgia State Patrol arrested Greer, 41, of Ellenwood, on assorted traffic charges on Sept. 17,
2021, and he was booked into the Hall County Jail. Sheriff Gerald Couch said Mr. Greer was
delivered to the jail by the state trooper just before midnight.
“The arresting trooper requested assistance removing Mr. Greer from his patrol car upon arriving
at the jail because Mr. Greer was being extremely belligerent,” Sheriff Couch said. “During the booking process, Mr. Greer did sustain an injury; however, none of the jailers involved had any ill-will or any intent to cause an injury. Mr. Greer failed to follow lawful commands to get on his knees so his handcuffs could be safely removed. Since he failed to comply, the jailers were trying to place Mr. Greer in a prone position to remove his handcuffs. During this process, Mr. Greer fell forwardcausing a laceration to his left eye.”
Mr. Greer made racial insults towards the arresting trooper, and he also repeatedly told the jailers
he hoped they would die and their families would die. Jail medical staff attempted to immediately
treat his injury as he continued to hurl insults and racial slurs at jail deputies and staff.
“The edited footage made public by Mr. Greer and his attorneys does not tell the entire story. I
made the decision to release the entire unedited video in order to be totally transparent and
accountable to the public I serve,” said Sheriff Couch. “The complete video shows this was an
unintentional incident that could have easily been prevented had Mr. Greer simply complied with
the officers’ instructions. While this is an unfortunate incident, it was not an egregious assault on an
inmate as some in our own community have alleged. I urge the public to watch the unedited video
on the Hall County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page to address any issues or concerns they might
have.”
(HCSO) WARNING: The body camera footage provided on Facebook is complete and unedited. It
includes language that may be considered profane, vulgar, or offensive to some of your
readers and/or viewers. Reader/viewer discretion is advised.”