Deputy investigated for 'aggravated assault' over inmate punching, choking

I-Team: Deputy named suspect in beating of inmate

A sheriff's deputy has been listed as a suspect connected to the punching and choking of a mentally ill, restrained Cobb County inmate. The FOX 5 I-Team's Dana Fowle first brought this unsettling video to the public, and she shares the latest update.

MARIETTA - Two Cobb County Sheriff's Office deputies have been named in an aggravated assault investigation into how a mentally ill inmate was treated in February. William Carducci, 27, was seen on a hospital camera restrained with cuffs and shackles as two deputies surrounded him. One deputy punched him six times, then put him in a chokehold for nearly a minute.

The county's incident report calls Carducci a "victim," and Deputy Shawn Titre is listed as a "suspect." Deputy Donald Farr is named, too, but it's unclear if he's considered a participant or a bystander.

The department began investigating one day after the event was caught on tape. Carducci, a diagnosed schizophrenic, had been transported to seek medical care for a minor infection.

What we know:

It's unclear what prompted the two deputies to surround the restrained inmate and force him to bed. The video, captured more than three months ago, shows William Carducci walking toward the door of the Marietta hospital room. Soon after, he was punched six times by one deputy, then, after putting his gloves on, that same deputy put Carducci in an oxygen-depriving chokehold for nearly a minute. 

Carducci's attorney, Scott Anderson, told the FOX 5 I-Team he can't imagine what was said or done in that split second at the doorway to provoke a use-of-force response. 

"I cannot imagine," he said. 

The Investigation:

After many requests for information from the sheriff's office, the incident report was finally released to the FOX 5 I-Team. 

It reads they are investigating a potential "aggravated assault" by Titre. It was three years to the day the officer was welcomed to the Cobb County Sheriff's Office.

Anderson reminded us that aggravated assault is "a felony."

Farr was also there, according to county records. In the incident report, his name is listed, but it's unclear if his superiors consider him a participant or a bystander. 

"Based on my memory of the video, it seems like, maybe, one of them was the main actor in the incident. And the other ones were there, I mean, I think arguably, the others were a party to the crime potentially," Anderson said. 

It's been more than three months since the department began looking into this use-of-force incident. There is not yet a public conclusion. Anderson is comfortable with that timeline. 

"Three months is not an unreasonable amount of time to look into something of this magnitude," he said.

Dig deeper:

In an unrelated incident, internal records show that 23 days after the hospital chokehold, Titre was suspended for a day without pay. 

In the meantime, Carducci's family says he has been moved from the jail to a mental health facility.

"Like anybody in that situation, he has good days; he has bad days," his attorney said.

Carducci is a diagnosed schizophrenic and was declared incompetent to stand trial after allegedly violently attacking his family. He'd been waiting in the Cobb County Jail for more than a year to be moved for treatment. 

"He's being treated by physicians, psychologists, counselors," Anderson said. "They are to try to restore him to competency so that he could potentially stand trial."

William Carducci's legal team put the Cobb County District Attorney's Office on notice they plan to sue for $3.5 million.