A former officer at the Dawson County Detention Center faces charges for an alleged assault on an inmate.
Dawson County Sheriff Jeff Johnson confirmed the May 26 arrest of Timothy Patrick Dorsey of Gainesville.
Johnson said Dorsey was charged with three counts of simple battery and one count of violation of oath of office for an incident that happened on April 4 at the detention center. Dorsey reportedly slammed the inmate into a hallway wall and an elevator. Johnson said the inmate was not injured, but an internal review raised enough concern that the incident was reported to the District Attorney's Office. At that point, criminal charges were filed against Dorsey.
"We are extremely disappointed in the actions exhibited by Dorsey, but rest assured that we remain committed to policing ourselves. Improper actions cannot and will not be tolerated," Johnson said in an email statement. "Any time an incident occurs that involves the use of force, it is thoroughly and critically reviewed to ensure that the force was justified and appropriate. In this case, it wasn’t.
"Your sheriff’s office works hard to maintain trust within our community and incidents such as this only serve to damage that trust.”
Dorsey resigned from his job prior to the filing of criminal charges, according to Johnson.
Dorsey's name was not on a list of inmates currently incarcerated at the Dawson County Detention Center.
