CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WSAV) - Sheriff Richard Coleman is addressing questions and concerns after a detainee from the Chatham County Detention Center died Thursday.
According to a news release, the detainee was taken to the hospital Wednesday. The individual died the next day from a medical condition.
At least one family member of another detainee reached out to News 3 to share their concerns for safety at the detention center moving forward.
"That could be anyone...anyone's family member," the concerned loved one said.
That anonymous loved one says her husband heard calls for help in the detention center and they suspect it was this detainee.
"He heard everything. He heard the inmate begging for help, and no one checked on him. No one came to save him or help him. They have medical units there. They have doctors there. He should have been moved to a different unit, and he ended up passing away due to their negligence," they said.
According to Sheriff Coleman, that's not the case, and the public should not be concerned about safety inside his complex.
"I want to assure everyone that the inmates or the detainees here to Chatham County Jail operate under safe conditions," Coleman said. "One thing we all must understand is that we don't want to get safety and medical conditions confused. Those are two different avenues, two different topics, and two different ways of handling things. What we had was a medical condition. We did not have a safety issue."
According to Coleman, the officers are trained for medical emergencies, certified by the National Commission on Correctional Healthcare. He says there are policies and procedures in place to protect detainees and the staff.
"The standards of operation according to your accreditation are often governed. They have oversight, and they ensure that we stay on top of these things in our sheriff's office to ensure that the best actions are taken under conditions like these," Coleman said.
Coleman asked the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to follow up on this incident. The Sheriff's Office is waiting to notify the detainee's family members before releasing their name.