One man dead, 3 officers sick from chemicals at hotel

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - Authorities are investigating what could have killed a man in his motel room. After a strong chemical odor made three DeKalb County Police officers sick after entering the scene.

The incident happened at the United Inn & Suites motel on Memorial Drive. 

Shortly after 4 p.m., DeKalb County Fire crews responded to a 911 call reporting one person was down in a hotel room on the third floor, DeKalb police were the second to arrive. 

The officers reported feeling dizzy and suffered nausea after being in the hotel room and quickly evacuated, according to authorities. 

Nearby hotel rooms on the third floor were evacuated, and other guests were prevented from returning to their rooms as police and firefighters locked down the hotel.

"The police were telling us to leave," one guest said. "We've been out of our room for three hours. What was really the cause?"  

Emergency crews transported those three police officers to the hospital as a precaution. They were later reported to be OK and have now been released.  

HAZMAT crews arrived on the scene and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is attempting to identify the chemical substance in the room. Currently, no harmful substances have been identified other than a "combination of household cleaning solutions," officials said. 

Police are not releasing the victim's names, but they have said he is a 48-year-old black man.

Crews from the Medical Examiner's Office carefully worked to transport the man's body to prevent contamination. The equipment of the other officers transported must also be decontaminated as well, police officials said.