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Hall County jailer charged in clash with inmate

HALL COUNTY, Ga. — A former jailer with the Hall County Sheriff's Office turned himself in Thursday over charges stemming from a physical altercation with an inmate.

Dustin Charlton was charged with one count of battery. He was fired after an investigation found he used excessive force in the September incident.

Sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Wilbanks said Charlton was involved in a physical altercation with a combative inmate, and after the inmate was brought under control and handcuffed, "Charlton struck the inmate's head with his hand," the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported at the time.

Wilbanks said he was also suspended two years ago after he struck an inmate in a similar incident. Charlton had been with the Sheriff's Office since May 2010.