Barrow County

GBI investigating man's death after being stunned with police Taser

By Nefertiti Jaquez
By Nefertiti Jaquez

BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — A heartbroken mother wants answers after her son died while in police custody.

Auburn police officers arrested Charles Williams III on Jan. 27 but he never made it inside the jail.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation told Channel 2's Nefertiti Jaquez it is still investigating exactly what happened  that night in the sally port of the Barrow County Jail, where investigators say the 30-year-old man died while in police custody.

“The pain is like your heart is ripped out and a part of you is gone,” Williams’ mother, Mary Sojka, said.

Sojka and Williams' father, Charles Williams Jr., are demanding answers about their son's death.
"It's hard," Williams said.

Auburn police responded to a call about a man fighting with a woman at a home along Green Tree Drive.

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The GBI said Charles Williams III, whose family called him Charlie, was combative on the way to the Barrow County Jail.

“He struggled with officers. He was kicking the inside of the patrol vehicle,” GBI spokewoman Nelly Miles told Jaquez.

Investigators said officers had to fight to get him under control. Things got heated again once they arrived at the jail's entrance.

“During the incident, at that time, one of the deputies actually did tase him,” Miles said.

But for his mother and father, that does not explain why the otherwise healthy 30-year-old ended up dead.

The family’s attorney told Jaquez that Williams stopped breathing seconds after being shocked with the Taser.

“He’s on the ground and suddenly dies. That has to raise an issue of whether the force used was appropriate, because he was healthy. He shouldn’t have died,” attorney Rod Dixon said.

The GBI said deputies administered CPR for about eight minutes until medics arrived, but in the end, there was nothing doctors could do.

Williams's parents believe his death was the result of excessive force.

“I just want to know what happened to my son,” Sojka said.

The GBI said the results of the investigation will be turned over to the District Attorney’s Office.

Cox Media Group

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