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Corrections officer arrested after being accused of using excessive force on an inmate

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Clayton County correctional officer was arrested and spent time in the same jail where he once monitored detainees. The officer is accused of using excessive force on an inmate and putting him in a restraining chair.

It happened at the Clayton County Jail and people who live in that county say they could not believe the allegations.

“Oh wow,” Besse Hogue said after hearing the news of the arrest of officer Tyrail Stewart.

Stewart faces felony charges of abuse of an inmate and making false statement charges.

Hogue said she couldn’t imagine one of her loved ones being locked up and on the receiving end of excessive force.

“I would want them to investigate it and get to the end of what’s going on. Maybe look into the Clayton County Jail,” Hogue explained.

Clayton County Jail officials investigated and say Stewart repeatedly punched detainee Kristofer Hernandez in his head and torso June 10 inside the jail. The warrant indicates Stewart was transporting Hernandez to a holding cell when Stewart assaulted him, slammed him to the ground and then put him in a restraining chair. The warrant indicates Stewart then filed a false report about what happened.

“He should be fired. He should be fired. I mean if this is all the truth and stuff,” said a resident that wished to not be identified.

Channel 2′s Tom Jones tried to contact Stewart to get his side of the story. No one answered the phone or responded to a message on social media.

Sheriff Victor Hill was recently suspended after he was indicted by a federal grand jury for placing detainees in four separate incidents in restraining chairs as punishment, and not because they needed restraining, according to the indictment.

Since Stewart is accused of excessive force and putting a detainee in a restraining chair, some people wondering what is going on inside the jail.

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Timothy Burthey says the excessive force is bad enough. “The chair part is just adding on to a person’s suffering. I don’t think it’s solving a problem,” Burthey said.

Channel 2 Action News crews reached out to the jail for a comment and to find out Stewart’s employment status. We were told someone would get back to us but we haven’t heard back. We also went by Hernandez’s home but no one answered the door. Jail records show he is still in custody.