Federal prosecutors say a former detention officer at the DeKalb County jail used excessive force against inmates.

The U.S. attorney's office in Atlanta said 51-year-old Dwight Hamilton of Atlanta was arraigned Thursday. A federal grand jury indicted him on Wednesday.

Brian Mendelsohn, Hamilton's lawyer, said he's disappointed the U.S. attorney's office decided to "rehash incidents" that happened while Hamilton was trying to maintain order in the jail. He said they look forward to responding to the charges.

Prosecutors say Hamilton twice used his stun gun multiple times on inmates without justification in January 2012, when he was a sergeant with the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office. The indictment says Hamilton violated the inmates' constitutional rights by using excessive force in both instances.

Prosecutors said Hamilton wrote false reports after each incident.

Tags: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office