DeKalb County detention officer arrested for striking inmate

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A DeKalb County detention officer was arrested for repeatedly striking an inmate.

Stanci Clayton was charged with violation of oath of office and battery.

A source tipped Channel 2's Erica Byfield off to Clayton's arrest.

"He has ruined his career in public safety," Sheriff Thomas Brown said.

On Nov. 11, Marcus Blanton was booked into the DeKalb County jail for a misdemeanor marijuana charge. Blanton told Byfield he was in a holding cell when Clayton approached him.

There is video of the incident.

Blanton said he asked Clayton if he could use the phone.

"He said, '(expletive) your phone call,' and I said something about his mother," Blanton said.

Blanton was handcuffed at the time.

He said after his remark, Clayton struck him twice in the mouth.

"All the blood that was in my mouth, I spit in his face," Blanton said.

The video shows two female officers tried to pull Blanton out of the cell, but he resisted.

Next, several officers ran in, and Clayton slammed a female officer on the floor. Officers then dragged Blanton into the hallway, ripped Blanton's pants off, and about 30 seconds later, Sgt. Adrion Bell used a Taser on him.

"We want to look at all of the factors, see if there were other violations, other opportunities for training," said Brown.

Previously, Bell was a spokesperson for the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.

Brown told Byfield several officers, including Bell, are under investigation.

The sheriff added that based on what he saw on camera, Clayton had to be fired.

"We are not going to tolerate this type of action," Brown said.

Blanton is disgusted by what happened.

"Even though we get arrested and have criminal charges, we are still human," Blanton commented.

Clayton is out of jail. Byfield attempted to reach him but was unsuccessful.

WSBTV