A former Clayton County Jail nurse is at the center of a lawsuit against a deputy accused of wrongful arrest. Jessica Marie Cotney, the nurse in question, was arrested back in May 2023, charged with furnishing prohibited items to inmates, an allegation that has since been dismissed, as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
The charges pointed to her allegedly providing an inmate with Benadryl without a doctor's orders, though the report states that the medication is authorized for over-the-counter use by jail nurses, including those at Clayton County Jail. According to the federal lawsuit detailed by her attorney, Mark Begnaud, Cotney did not directly give the Benadryl to an arrested correctional officer experiencing an allergic reaction, but rather to a fellow nurse as she was instructed not to have any contact with the officer, due to their friendship. Despite this difference, only Cotney was pursued by the investigator.
Further complicating matters, Cotney was accused of obstruction of an officer. This, her attorney claims, is based on a refusal to attend a 2 a.m. interview, deemed unfeasible due to her responsibilities as a single mother to a young child. In a statement provided by McClatchy News, Begnaud asserts, "Of course, anybody with five minutes of law enforcement or legal training knows that the police cannot force a person who is not under arrest to voluntarily submit to an interrogation — and arrest them if they decline," as noted by Miami Herald.
Cotney's lawsuit is fighting back against what her representation describes as "an unjust and baseless prosecution" fueled by warrant applications laden with falsehoods. As reported by FOX 5 Atlanta, this entire ordeal has left Cotney with "emotional distress, humiliation and reputational harm." Now, with the charges dropped, she is seeking compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to attorney fees. The Clayton County Sheriff's Office has not provided an immediate response regarding the deputy named in the lawsuit.
