Man in custody dies after ‘altercation’ with Monroe County jail deputies

A man has died in the custody of the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Joshua Marshall, 40, became unresponsive during an “altercation” with jail employees when he was booked at the county jail Wednesday night, according to a sheriff’s office news release.

Medical aid was quickly started, Monroe County Emergency Medical Services was summoned and Marshall was immediately taken by ambulance to the Monroe County Hospital, the release said. Marshall was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Marshall was being booked into the jail on a charge of family violence battery when the altercation ensued, the release said. He’d been arrested after Monroe deputies were dispatched to a 911 call of a domestic disturbance/assault on Pioneer Trail at 7:55 p.m.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has been asked to probe the death to ensure an impartial, third-party investigation, said Monroe County Sheriff Brad Freeman. That is also departmental policy, according to the release.

The sheriff’s employees involved in the incident — a sheriff’s deputy and two jailers — are on regular work assignments while the GBI investigates, Freeman said.

Freeman declined to elaborate on the altercation, citing the GBI investigation.

At 11:40 p.m., the GBI was requested by the sheriff’s office to investigate the death, according to a GBI news release.

An autopsy was conducted at a GBI crime lab.

“Once the GBI investigation and autopsy report are complete, all information will be turned over to the Towaliga District Attorney’s Office for review,” the release said.

This story was originally published January 16, 2020 at 1:41 PM with the headline "Man in custody dies after ‘altercation’ with Monroe County jail deputies."