The Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) is investigating an incident at Wheeler Correctional Facility involving the use of force during a confrontation with inmate Dustin Parham yesterday. According to a Georgia Bureau of Investigation press release, correctional officers engaged with the 35-year-old inmate early in the morning after reports of erratic and combative behavior.
Authorities stated that Parham, armed with a makeshift weapon made from wire fencing, was acting abnormally near a dormitory doorway. Officers intervened and handcuffed him after he resisted, using OC spray to gain compliance. After being restrained on a gurney, Parham’s condition deteriorated, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
No correctional officers were injured. Parham’s body was sent to the Coastal Crime Lab in Pooler for an autopsy to determine the cause of death. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation will submit its findings to the District Attorney’s Office of the Oconee Judicial Circuit for review.
