Georgia deputy who suffered medical emergency and was saved by inmates returns to work

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. - A Georgia deputy who suffered a medical emergency and was rescued by three inmates last month is back on the job.

Deputy Warren Hobbs returned to work this week at the Gwinnett County Jail. He stand with three inmates who helped save his life (Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office)

Deputy Warren Hobbs returned to work this week at the Gwinnett County Jail, the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office posted on Facebook.

He and quickly sought out the inmates who came to his resuce so he could thank them in person.

FOX 5 first reported that the three inmates noticed that Hobbs appeared to not be feeling well as he conducted his security procedures in the jail's housing unit. 

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Mitchell Smalls, an inmate, said he thought the deputy was sleeping at first. Then, he noticed the deputy was acting strangely. 

“Kinda was like laying back in his chair and just started [making noises]," Smalls said. 

Deputy Hobbs then fell to the ground and was bleeding from his head. He appeared to be unconscious.

Smalls said he did the only thing he could do.

"I started hollering and screaming and banging on the door to try to alert everybody to wake up," he said.

Soon, the entire unit with more than 60 inmates, started yelling and pounding on their doors. In the surveillance video, you can see the windows shaking from the heavy pounding on the doors.

It was that noise that likely brought Deputy Hobbs back from being unconscious. A spokesperson with the Gwinnett County Sheriff's Office said the deputy said the only thing he remembers is a noise that sounded like drums and people shouting "Deputy Hobbs." 

Terry Lovelace, an inmate, said he could see the deputy regain consciousness and try to get up. 

"Our deputy later stated that while he did not realize he'd been unconscious, he became aware of what sounded like pounding drums and could hear inmates shouting his name over and over. He immediately thought an inmate needed help and somehow managed to rise to his feet and press the control panel to open cell doors," Lovelace said.

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“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. As he came up I can make eye contact with him I’m like deputy Hobbs, Deputy Hobbs, please," Lovelace said. 

Deputy Hobbs was able to hit a button to unlock Lovelace and Walter Whitehead's room. The two ran out of their cell, downstairs and to the deputy's side. 

Whitehead grabbed the phone and Lovelace used the deputy’s radio to call for help.

Help arrived within seconds and took over. 

The inmates spend 12 hours a day with one single deputy, so they develop relationships with them.

In this case, Lovelace and Whitehead could sense something was wrong even more when the deputy went unconscious. 

They say it's a relationship that looks beyond what uniform they're wearing and relies on mutual respect. 

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