Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes has asked that the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia conduct an independent investigation into the death of Kevil Wingo.
Wingo died while in custody at the Cobb County Adult Detention Center, (ADC), after repeatedly complaining of abdominal pain, and after passing out numerous times.
Holmes issued the following statement:
On August 18, 2020, Timothy Gardner, the attorney representing the family of Kevil Wingo, asked that an independent investigation be conducted into Mr. Wingo’s death at the Cobb Adult Detention Center.
The files that Mr. Gardner obtained through open records requests to the Cobb Sheriff’s Office were submitted to the Cobb District Attorney’s Office, media, and other organizations.
Those materials should be a part of an independent investigation into Mr. Wingo’s death and other inmate deaths at the jail.
As I have previously stated, I am committed to ensuring that matters of public safety and the concerns of our citizens be addressed by our office or referred to the appropriate agency without favor or fear.
It is for this reason that I have asked the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia to conduct an independent investigation of the recent inmate deaths at the Cobb Adult Detention Center. I have also requested that the Attorney General designate/appoint an attorney or office pursuant to the authority in O.C.G.A. 15-18-5 to coordinate with the U.S. Attorney’s independent investigation.
The DA’s office stated that Holmes will not be taking further questions from the media.
Background
Kevil Wingo died in custody in September of 2019, while in severe abdominal pain, but according to an 11Alive News investigation, the Cobb Sheriff’s Office kept the details concealed until an internal investigation was concluded this June.
A Youtube video of Wingo collapsed in a detention center isolation room has been widely circulated.
At a press conference at the ADC in August organized by state Representative David Wilkerson, Timothy Gardner, the attorney for the Wingo’s family said, “It’s time for the district attorney to take our pleas seriously and to listen to Kevil Wingo and his family for the first time. We have sent her information this week that highlights the severe criminal gross conduct of the deputies in this facility, the watch commander, the sergeant, and all of the WellStar staff.”
“It is absolutely unfathomable that these individuals have not been charged with crimes. It is equally unfathomable that all of them still work in this facility and are receiving tax-payer salaries. That has to stop. Sheriff Neil Warren can make the decision today to make sure every single person involved in Kevil Wingo’s death is terminated immediately,” he said during the press conference.
