9 CCSO deputies terminated after investigation into Matthew Ajibade death

9 CCSO deputies terminated after investigating into Matthew Ajibade death

By WTOC Staff | May 8, 2015 at 9:28 PM EDT - Updated July 27 at 12:23 PM

Nine Chatham County Sheriff's deputies have been fired after an investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation into the death of Matthew Ajibade on Jan. 1.

The GBI began their external investigation on Jan. 2 into the conduct of the nine deputies who were present at the facility during the incident. The Internal Affairs Division of the Sheriff's Office also conducted a review of not only the personnel involved, but the policies of the Department.

According to a letter from the Chatham County Sheriff's Office, three weeks after Matt Ajibade was tased by sheriff's deputies and died in a restraining chair, another inmate was tased while in full restraints. Private Fredrick Burk is accused of tasing the inmate in question.

CHATHAM CO., GA (WTOC) - After the sheriff's office received the GBI's completed investigation, Sheriff Al St. Lawrence instructed Internal Affairs to again review the actions of the deputies involved as well as the policies of the Department with the evidence obtained by the GBI.

In accordance with both investigations, the Sheriff fired nine deputies on Friday:

Cpl. Maxine Evans

Cpl. Jason Kenny

Pvt. Eric Vinson

Pvt. Abram Burns

Pvt. Christopher Reed

Pvt. Burt Ambrose

Pvt. Paul Folsome

Pvt. Frederick Burke

Pvt. Andrew Evans-Martinez

Greg Capers, Benjamin Webster and Lt. Debra Johnson are no longer employed with the Sheriff Office. Capers and Webster were terminated for policy violations not related to this incident, and Johnson has retired.

Simultaneously with the release of this statement, the Sheriff is releasing the personnel files and termination letters of the first nine individuals named above. As both the Internal Affairs and GBI reports are currently in the hands of the District Attorney for her independent review to take action as she deems appropriate, the Sheriff is not releasing those reports.

Also, as announced on Wednesday, the Sheriff has instituted policy changes as a result of these parallel investigations. Those changes include:

· New booking procedures to ensure immediate notification to onsite medical personnel when a person with medication arrives for the booking process.

· New security procedures with the jail to audit the use of Taser devices and reconcile such use with standard documentation and current Use of Force policies.

· The Cell Extraction and Removal Team (CERT) will be reviewed and have a renewed focus of discipline and use of non-lethal force.

· A clear written policy of when Tasers may not be used.

All questions regarding any potential criminal prosecution should be directed to the District Attorney.

"The fact that nine people were fired tells us how terrible this incident was. But the family still has no answers about what happened to Mathew. We again call on the Sheriff and DA to be transparent while seek justice for Mathew."