A former Fulton County deputy was arrested and transported to jail herself on Tuesday for what she failed to do behind bars.

Gloria Franklin, 30, is accused of failing to provide aid or request assistance for an inmate following an incident on February 7 in which several fellow inmates assaulted and stabbed Qwayshawn Green.

Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat calls it “inexcusable.”

Franklin faces charges including simple assault, cruelty to inmates, reckless conduct, evidence tampering, and four counts of violation of oath by a public officer. The sheriff says what she did cannot be tolerated.

“We are all responsible for our actions and if you break the law, you will be held accountable,” Sheriff Labat said. “I expect my deputies to hold themselves to a much higher standard.”

Retired Fulton County Chief Jailer Mark Adger found the news of a jailer failing to step in when needed stunning.

“They have a duty under the law to intervene when a person is in crisis,” said Adger. A common example in training is the scenario when a person is handcuffed. If someone hits that person, the officer has a duty to step in to protect them.

“Same thing if they’re behind bars. They’re confined and can’t run away. The only thing they could do is respond with violence themselves, which would get them into trouble,” he explains.

The victim, Green, is jailed over allegations he masterminded a robbery at a Buckhead restaurant where he worked four years ago. Charges include armed robbery and aggravated assault.

Adger tells WSB there are a number of reasons a detention officer might fail to step in to stop an attack. Sometimes, it’s hard to know until the investigation is complete.

“Fear could be one of [the reasons]. Or it could be they’re in cahoots,” he says.

There are times when officers in law enforcement are affiliated not with a gang, but with people who may be in a gang--perhaps a former neighbor or schoolmate, Adger explains. Such an officer might look the other way or just be reluctant to step in to stop someone they know who is acting out.

Still, in his 34-year, 11-month career with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office--more than 20 years of that spent in and out of the Fulton County Jail as an officer, a lieutenant, a major, and ultimately its commander as a colonel before he retired--Adger knows how many times he’s seen it happen.

“Never,” Adger says. “I’ve seen an improper response, such as excessive force and I’ve had to step in to intervene--again, you have a duty to intervene--but I’ve never seen people do nothing in response to inmate violence.

“If they’re outmatched I don’t expect them to put themselves in physical jeopardy, but they have to do something. They have to make a call, blow a whistle, make a signal, get on the radio. In some institutions, they have panic buttons they carry. Turn on your body cam. There’s a whole host of things they provide to a person in that position to protect themselves.”

Franklin, who began employment with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office as a Deputy Sheriff on May 30, 2018, was demoted to a Detention Officer in 2019.

Franklin was granted a $5,000 bond during her first appearance at the Fulton County Jail on Wednesday morning. Her bond conditions include having no contact with “co-defendants Valen Preston, Frank Hubbert, Charles Spencer, Jaquan Fields, Justin Shipman, and Jermaine Carter,” any gang members, or any inmates of the jail.

Earlier in February, another Fulton County jailer was fired and arrested on similar charges.

Reynard Trotman faces seven counts of violation of oath by a public officer, two counts of aggravated assault, two counts of battery, reckless conduct, cruelty to inmate and conspiracy to commit a felony. The sheriff said an investigation found Trotman stood by while other inmates stabbed inmate Devin Gatison 12 times.

Now a Law Enforcement Trainer with the Georgia Public Safety Training Center, Adger says he does not know whether staffing might be suffering at the jail, but he knows he can discount one factor which might keep an officer from intervening as required. He says Sheriff Labat has done a good job expecting excellence from deputies.

“If training is anything like when I was there, it’s not for a lack of knowledge,” he tells WSB.

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