FULTON COUNTY, Ga. — The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says it is investigating claims of medical neglect at the Fulton County Jail.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI’s assistance on Wednesday, according to the state agency.
The GBI said it will conduct a preliminary review regarding former FCSO inmate Rashaad Muhammad, who had his fingers and legs amputated while in custody.
Channel 2’s Michael Seiden previously reported when Muhammad and his legal team rallied over the medical procedures.
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At the rally on April 29, Muhammad recounted his experience in the jail, where he claimed jail staff ignored his pleas for help during a medical emergency.
“I suffered in this place. I asked them for something simple like my medicine,” Muhammad said at the time. He is being represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump.
The rally in front of the Fulton County Jail was held after Muhammad met privately with Sheriff Pat Labat.
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“All preventable! All they had to do was give him his antibiotics or get him to the hospital day two, day three,” Crump said at the rally.
The sheriff’s office told Channel 2 Action News that Muhammad was in custody for 188 days, 177 of which were spent at Grady Memorial Hospital and was under the care of NaphCare while physically inside the jail.
In a statement shared previously, NaphCare said “We are saddened by what Mr. Muhammad experienced. We have conducted a clinical review of the care provided and stand behind the treatment delivered by our team. This involved a medically complex patient, and we believe our staff acted appropriately and did everything within their power to provide care and support under difficult circumstances.”
NaphCare would not comment further due to ongoing legal action.
As far as the GBI’s involvement now, the agency said the purpose of the review is to determine if criminal activity exists to initiate a criminal investigation.
That investigation is currently active.
In response to the opening of the GBI review of the Fulton County Jail, Crump issued a statement on his client’s behalf.
“Rashaad Muhammad was in the custody of the Fulton County Jail when his medical condition allegedly worsened to the point that he lost both of his legs and all of his fingers after repeated cries for help went unanswered. That fact exceeds negligence. It is a devastating failure of basic human dignity and responsibility,” Crump said in part. “What makes this even more alarming is that families and advocates have raised concerns about conditions and medical care inside this jail for years.”
Crump said the GBI investigation makes it clear that no one “is above accountability.”
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