Fox5 Atlanta

County Jail Inmates Work To Save Deputy's Life After Heart Attack

Updated September 7, 2021

No matter where you find yourself in life, you'll find that how you get along with others can be a roll of the dice. The old saying may be right that we can pick our friends, but that doesn't necessarily mean we get to choose who we spend most of our days with.

Most of us can point to our times in school or at certain jobs when we reflect on this reality but it's also true for those who have spent time in jail.

And while it's hardly unusual for guards and inmates to end up with an adversarial relationship, one deputy recently learned just how much he meant to the men under his watch.

During his shifts at the Gwinnett County Jail in Georgia, Deputy Hobbs spends 12 hours with a unit of 60 inmates.

Fox 5 Atlanta, Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office

As Fox 5 Atlanta reported, that level of familiarity gave some of the inmates in his unit reason to believe he wasn't feeling well earlier this week.

And that became abundantly clear when he started having what was later identified as a heart attack.

Inmate Mitchell Smalls noticed an emergency was developing when he saw Deputy Hobbs lean back in his chair and make gurgling sounds.

Fox 5 Atlanta

Soon after, Hobbs would fall to the ground and lose consciousness. He was also bleeding from his head.

Since Smalls was locked in his cell, all he could do was start banging on the door and screaming to alert others to the situation.

As he did this, all 60 inmates in the unit joined in with such force that the windows on their cells could be seen shaking.

Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office

Although Hobbs told Fox 5 Atlanta he didn't remember falling unconscious, he could suddenly hear what sounded like drums and inmates screaming his name.

As Terry Lovelace (left) said, "He grabbed a hold of his desk and he was pulling himself up like this. It was sad because it didn’t look good at all but the man had fight in him to get up."

Since Lovelace was able to make eye contact with Hobbs, the deputy chose to open his cell and mustered enough strength to hit the button.

Fox 5 Atlanta

As Fox 5 Atlanta reported, Lovelace and his cellmate Walter Whitehead then raced down a flight of stairs and reached Hobbs' desk.

As Whitehead grabbed the phone to call 911, Lovelace used the deputy's radio to call for help and help arrived within seconds.

Although Hobbs remains under medical care, he has since been able to return home and is thankful for the quick thinking of the three inmates.

Fox 5 Atlanta

As far as they were concerned, their actions were simply about helping another person having a medical emergency.

As 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."

h/t: Fox 5 Atlanta

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