Georgia inmates seen on video rushing to save life of guard who suffered heart attack

‘I will do whatever I can to save a man. I don’t want anyone to die,’ one prisoner says

Three inmates in Georgia saved the life of a prison guard who suffered a heart attack while undergoing security checks outside of their cell doors.

Mitchell Smalls, Terry Loveless and Walter Whitehead were credited with acting swiftly to save the life of the cell block’s guard Walter Hobbs after he fell ill.

Last week, after undergoing his routine security checks of the block, Mr Hobbs walked back to his desk but fell unconscious and split his head open on the concrete floor.

Smalls was the first to notice that the deputy had fallen to the ground and he banged on his cell door to alert other inmates to the situation, according to a statement from the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday.

The deputy woke back up after the whole cell block started banging on their doors in an attempt to alert other staff members to the situation.

He believed that the noise was about an inmate who needed help, so the deputy got up and pressed the button on the control panel that unlocked all of the cell doors.

Video footage of the incident showed Loveless and Whitehead immediately rush out of their cells to assist the deputy, who had fallen unconscious again on the way back to his desk.

The deputy later told colleagues that he had no idea he had lost consciousness at any time and only remembered hearing pounding drums and inmates calling his name repeatedly.

The inmates were able to get extra help for the deputy and Mr Hobbs, who is currently recovering at home from the heart attack, thanked the three men for their assistance.

Speaking about the incident, Whitehead said: “It scared me. I don’t care if it’s a police officer or whoever it was. I will do whatever I can to save a man. I don’t want anyone to die.”

The Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office tweeted a photo of the men and wrote: “Kudos to these inmates for coming to the aid of our deputy when he suffered a cardiac emergency in a jail housing unit.

“We thank them for their timely assistance and the lesson their actions provide. It’s not the uniform that makes a hero. It’s the person wearing it.”

The department also released a statement, where they added: “These inmates came to his aid because our deputy, like most law enforcement officers, treats people with the dignity they deserve.

“These inmates had no obligation whatsoever to render aid to a bleeding, vulnerable deputy, but they didn’t hesitate.”

The department added: “Many people have strong opinions about law enforcement officers and criminals, but this incident clearly illustrates the potential goodness found in both.”