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Inmate succumbs just hours after being arrested

State medical authorities have performed an autopsy on a Cairo man who passed away while in custody at the Grady County Detention Center.
Franklin Edward Lee, 58, of 331 Loblolly Lane, was in a holding cell at the county facility when a jailer discovered he was unresponsive at approximately 9:40 p.m., Friday.
According to Steven Turner, special agent in charge of the GBI office in Thomasville, results of the autopsy are not yet released as the investigation continues.
Lee was taken into custody Friday at approximately 6:20 p.m., when officers were called to Hardees on U.S. 84 in Cairo to help remove an apparently intoxicated person from the premises.
According to information from the Cairo Police Department, the first officer determined Lee was “unable to function normally.” The report also states Lee “appeared to be under the influence of some type of intoxicant.” Lee was arrested for disorderly conduct and handcuffed behind the back.
At the officer’s patrol car, two officers attempted to put Lee in the back seat, but Lee allegedly hooked his legs on the bottom of the car door and refused to cooperate. A short burst of pepper spray was administered the report states, and Lee “slid in the vehicle and was leaned upwards against the patrol car door.”
At the Detention Center, officers say they removed the handcuffs and provided Lee with water to wash his face.
After washing his face, Lee allegedly walked into the detention center where he was booked and then turned over to employees of Grady Detention Center. Police say the assisting officer in the case left the detention center at this point and the arresting officer finished his booking report.
Lee was allegedly undergoing a decontamination process at the jail when the arresting officer left the center.
The Cairo Police say jail employees administered CPR when they discovered Lee unresponsive in his cell around 9:40 p.m. Lee was taken to Grady General Hospital where attempts to revive him were unsuccessful.
Cairo Police called in the GBI to investigate the death.

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