Georgia sheriff asks judge to dismiss charges against him

By KATE BRUMBACK
Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) — A lawyer for an Atlanta-area sheriff argued that the sheriff’s use of a restraint chair doesn’t amount to excessive force under any clearly established law and federal charges against him should be dismissed. A federal prosecutor countered that Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill very clearly used excessive force against people in his agency’s custody when he ordered them to be held in a restraint chair without justification and as punishment. The arguments came Monday in a hearing on a defense request to dismiss an indictment against Hill. U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Bly did not immediately rule on the motion to dismiss but said the arguments made by both sides were “exceedingly helpful.”