11Alive: Lawsuit filed against Cobb County Sheriff to release records on jail deaths
COBB COUNTY, Ga. — 11Alive has filed a lawsuit against the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office alleging the department has violated the Georgia Open Records Act in an attempt to conceal documents related to jail deaths.
In August, 11Alive's investigative team, The Reveal, submitted a records request seeking case files involving three inmates who died at the Cobb County Detention Center.
The requested documents included criminal and internal affairs case files previously closed by sheriff investigators. The former inmates include Reginald Wilson, found unresponsive on Dec. 29, 2018; Bradley Emory, found unresponsive on March 10, 2019 and Stephanie McClendon, found dead this past June.
The sheriff’s office declined to produce the documents because it claimed the inmate deaths were still under investigation, not by law enforcement, but private attorney Nathan Wade.