BARROW COUNTY, Ga. — A man died while in custody after he was tasered by a local sheriff's office on Saturday, officials confirm. Now, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is looking into the case.
According to the GBI, officials were moving Charles "Charlie" Williams, 30, from one facility to the Barrow County Detention Center around 2:30 that afternoon. Williams was already under arrest through the Auburn Police Department for charges of battery and cruelty to children, related to a physical confrontation in Auburn, Georgia.
According to the GBI, Williams "became combative before making it into the jail. He fought with deputies for several moments and did damage to the patrol car he was transported in." The GBI investigation indicates a Williams managed to move his handcuffs from behind his back to his front. Personnel tried to talk him out of the vehicle, but he continued to struggle.
Sometime during that altercation, a Barrow County deputy used a taser on him, though it reportedly did not subdue him. The GBI has not released how many times he was hit with the taser.
During the altercation, he stopped fighting back when he "experienced medical duress and stopped breathing," the GBI writes.
Deputies reportedly attempted to revive him with emergency medical treatment but he never regained consciousness. Williams never made it inside the jail and was pronounced dead at the hospital.
11Alive checked in to how often taser incidents result in death. According to data by Reuters, more than 1,000 people have died in the U.S. after police stunned them with tasers. The stun gun was ruled to be a cause or a contributing factor in more than 150 of those deaths.
While an autopsy has been completed, the medical examiner has not released the cause of death for Williams.
11Alive's Chris Hopper reached out to Williams' family; their attorney called back to say they're not ready to talk. The attorney said they too are trying to gather all the details they can, looking for answers. Meanwhile, family members have set up a fundraiser for his burial.
