Video, photos reveal evidence that convicted Sheriff Victor Hill in federal trial

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. - Court exhibits obtained by FOX 5 shed light on the documents, photographs and videos jurors saw prior to convicting former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill on federal charges.

Hill is scheduled to return to court next week for the sentencing phase of his trial.

In October 2022 a federal jury in Atlanta convicted Hill on six of seven counts of violating the constitutional rights of detainees inside the Clayton County Jail from December 2019 to May 2020 by ordering them held in restraint chairs for hours shortly after their arrests.

Cameras and other recording devices are prohibited in federal court, so except for the few who attended the trial in person, most of the public has not seen the evidence prosecutors used during the proceedings.

A cell phone video recorded by a former Clayton County Sheriff's Office employee captured the then-sheriff's conversation with a man named Joseph Arnold as he was booked into the jail on Feb. 25, 2020. Arnold was accused of assaulting two women inside a Forest Park grocery store earlier that month.

"What was you doing in Clayton County that day?" Sheriff Hill asked Arnold.

"It's a democracy, sir. It's the United States," Arnold replied.

"No, it's not. Not in my county," responded Sheriff Hill.

When Arnold challenged Sheriff Hill on his right "to a fair and speedy trial," Hill told sheriff's office employees to bring him a restraint chair.

"Roll that chair 'round here," ordered Sheriff Hill. "Roll that chair 'round here."

According to a 2018 policy approved by Hill, restraint chairs "may be used by security staff to provide safe containment of an inmate exhibiting violent or uncontrollable behavior and to prevent self-injury, injury to others or property damage when other control techniques are not effective."

Video showed Arnold was cooperative during the time Sheriff Hill questioned him. Hill's defense team argued that the sheriff's knowledge of Arnold and other detainees' actions prior to their arrests made use of the restraint chair justified.

Prosecutors also introduced surveillance videos from inside the jail that showed Sheriff Hill's interactions with Glenn Howell on April 27, 2020. Howell, a landscaper, had a dispute with a Clayton County Sheriff's Office deputy about payment for work that Howell did on the deputy's property.

Sheriff Hill called Howell to try to intervene and the conversation became heated. When Howell tried to contact Hill again, Hill obtained a warrant for Howell's arrest on a charge of harassing communications. Howell turned himself in a few days later.

In the surveillance video, Howell is pictured sitting on a bench for several minutes. He appears to follow commands as an intake officer searches him and processes his belongings. At one point, prosecutors pointed out, jail staff left Howell alone in the intake area—something attorneys argued they would not have done if Howell was a threat.

Footage shows Sheriff Hill arriving about an hour later and speaking to Howell in the hallway. Less than a minute into the conversation, Howell is placed into a waiting restraint chair.

These images show the restraint chair used at the Clayton County Jail and a close-up of the warning label on the back. This is just some of the visual evidence obtained by FOX 5 from the federal trial of former Victor Hill. (Supplied)

The sheriff's office restraint chair policy explains that officers should remove someone from the device "when they have determined that there is no longer a threat to self or others, or the inmate must be transported to another facility."

Multiple witnesses, however, testified that when Sheriff Hill ordered someone into a restraint chair, it was understood that person was not to be released for four hours, the maximum allowed under the policy.

The detainees testified that they experienced pain during their time in the restraint devices.

In these images, Desmond Bailey shows off cuts on the wrist he says he received from being strapped to a restraint chair. This is just some of the visual evidence obtained by FOX 5 from the federal trial of former Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill. (Supplied)

Prosecutors displayed photos of deep gashes on Desmond Bailey's wrists. Bailey was arrested on Feb. 6, 2020 and his then-girlfriend took screenshots of the injuries on a video call with him days after his release from the chair.

Sheriff Hill took the stand in his own defense and testified that he stood by his decisions to restrain the detainees, telling jurors he "acted lawfully." The jury, however, disagreed in six of the seven instances, convicting him for violating the rights of Desmond Bailey, Joseph Arnold, Glenn Howell, Raheem Peterkin, Walter Thomas and a 17-year-old, who FOX 5 has chosen not to identify.

Hill's sentencing is scheduled for March 14.