Sheriff Johnny Moats, in Polk County, Georgia, isn’t naming names, but the six inmates who rescued an officer during a work detail last Friday will serve reduced sentences.
Many of the six men who rushed to help the officer who’d passed out in the afternoon heat haven’t even been sentenced yet, Moats told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
After the officer collapsed, one of the inmates grabbed the man’s work phone and called 911, according to the sheriff's office. The inmates also took off the man’s outer carrier vest in an attempt to help cool him off.
“If I’m in court when they go, I would stand up, and let them know what they did,” Moats said.
Moats said prisoners in Polk County jail already earn two days time served for every day they spend in the county jail. Those who volunteer for work detail earn three days for every one.
Moats said he would give these men credit for four days for every one served.
“I can’t do that if they are sentenced to prison,” Moats said.
It’s what is traditionally called “time off for good behavior” and applied to any future sentence.