A former Fulton County Jail inmate is speaking out after he says jail staff ignored his cries for help during a medical emergency that later ended with doctors amputating both of his legs and several of his fingers.
Channel 2 Action News reporter Michael Seiden said it was an emotional scene outside the Fulton County Jail, where Rashaad Muhammad appeared in a wheelchair alongside more than a dozen supporters and attorneys.
Muhammad had been booked into the jail in August. Nearly eight months later, Seiden reported, he was outside that same facility describing what he says happened inside before he was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
“I suffered in this place,” Muhammad said outside the jail. “I asked them for something simple like my medicine.”
A Closed-Door Meeting With The Sheriff
Seiden reported that Muhammad spoke moments after a closed-door meeting with Fulton County Sheriff Pat Labat.
The former inmate appeared shaken as he tried to explain what had happened to him, telling those gathered outside the jail that he was still processing the loss of his legs and parts of his hands.
“I can’t believe what happened to me here,” Muhammad said. “It’s really unbelievable. And I’m processing it all as I go. So, please bear with me.”
Then he asked people to think about what he is going through.
“It hurts,” Muhammad said.
Supporters around him chanted for people to stand with him, turning the moment into both a personal appeal and a public demand for accountability.
It is hard to hear a story like this and not pause. Jail is supposed to remove someone’s freedom while a case moves through the system, but it is not supposed to remove a person’s access to basic medical care. When the allegation is that a treatable condition turned into amputations, the question becomes much bigger than one person’s complaint.
Muhammad Says He Asked For Medicine
According to Seiden’s report, Muhammad said that from the moment he was arrested last August, he told jail staff that he needed medication for a bladder condition.
Muhammad claims those requests were ignored until his condition became critical.
His legal team says the situation was preventable.
Attorney Ben Crump, who stood with Muhammad outside the jail, said staff could have avoided the medical crisis if they had acted sooner.
“All preventable,” Crump said. “All they had to do was give him his antibiotics or get him to the hospital day two, day three.”
Seiden reported that Muhammad eventually went into septic shock, a dangerous medical emergency that can happen when the body has an extreme response to infection.
Muhammad was rushed to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he fell into a coma. Doctors later had to amputate both of his legs and several of his fingers.
That sequence is what makes the allegations so severe. Muhammad is not only saying jail staff delayed care. He is saying that delay changed the rest of his life.
Doctors Amputated Both Legs And Several Fingers
Seiden reported that Muhammad is now in a wheelchair after the amputations.
The former inmate’s physical condition stood at the center of the news conference. He was not speaking about a minor injury, a missed appointment, or a temporary illness. He was describing permanent loss.
“I asked him for something simple like my medicine,” Muhammad said, according to Seiden’s report.
Those words are plain, but they carry weight. In a jail, a person cannot simply leave, call another doctor, drive to a pharmacy, or make their own medical decisions the way they might on the outside.
That is one reason medical care in custody is such a serious issue. Once the government takes control of a person’s body and movement, it also takes on a basic duty to keep that person alive and cared for.
Crump’s argument was simple: Muhammad needed antibiotics or a hospital much earlier than he got one.
Muhammad, meanwhile, made clear that he wants the focus to go beyond his own suffering.
“What is it going to take to get a new jail?” Muhammad asked. “What is it going to take so it don’t happen no more? That’s what I care about.”
Sheriff’s Office Points To Hospital Care
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office gave a different piece of the timeline, according to Seiden.
The sheriff’s office said that out of the 188 days Muhammad was in custody, 177 were spent at Grady Memorial Hospital under hospital care.
Officials also said Muhammad was under the medical care of a private provider, NaphCare, while inside the jail.
That response does not fully answer the central allegation from Muhammad and his attorneys, which is about what happened before he reached the hospital. But it does show where the county is likely to place part of the focus: on the fact that Muhammad spent most of his time in custody receiving hospital treatment.
Seiden reported that Channel 2 reached out to NaphCare for comment.
In a statement, NaphCare said it remained committed to providing quality health care in “one of the most complex correctional environments in the country.”
The company said it was saddened by what Muhammad experienced, but said it had conducted a clinical review and stood behind the treatment provided by its team.
“This involved a medically complex patient, and we believe our staff acted appropriately and did everything within their power to provide care and support under difficult circumstances,” NaphCare said.
The company also said it would not be appropriate to comment further because of ongoing legal action.
Charges Against Muhammad Were Dropped
Seiden also reported that Muhammad had initially been charged with two counts of aggravated assault and possession of a firearm.
His attorneys say the case involved self-defense.
Earlier this month, according to Seiden, those charges were dropped.
That part of the story adds another layer. Muhammad entered the jail facing serious accusations, but those charges are no longer moving forward. Now, the public attention has shifted to what happened to him while he was in custody.
His attorneys are exploring legal action, Seiden reported, though no lawsuit had been filed at the time of the report.
For now, Muhammad’s account stands as a public accusation against the jail and the systems responsible for medical care there.
The legal process may eventually sort through records, timelines, medical decisions, and who knew what at each point. But even before a lawsuit is filed, the images described in the report are difficult to shake: a man who walked into jail last August now sitting outside it in a wheelchair, saying he begged for medicine and was not heard.
A Case That Raises Larger Questions
Seiden’s report focused on Muhammad’s personal story, but the questions around it stretch far beyond one man.
What happens when someone in jail says they need medication? How quickly are those requests reviewed? Who decides whether an inmate needs hospital care? And if a person keeps asking for help, how many warnings should it take before the system treats the situation as urgent?
Those questions matter because people in custody are often powerless in the most literal way. They cannot choose their provider, control their medication, or leave to seek help somewhere else.
Muhammad’s case, as described by him and his attorneys, is a warning about what can happen when that power imbalance meets a medical emergency.
The sheriff’s office and NaphCare have pointed to the hospital care Muhammad received and the complexity of the environment. Muhammad and Crump are pointing to the earlier period, before the hospital, when they say basic care could have prevented a devastating outcome.
Both sides may eventually have to answer those questions in court.
For Muhammad, though, the damage is already real.
Standing outside the Fulton County Jail, surrounded by supporters, he said he is still trying to process what happened to him. He also made clear that he does not want another person to go through the same thing.
That may become the lasting issue in this case. It is not only whether one inmate was failed, but whether the system around him is capable of admitting failure before another emergency becomes permanent.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, John developed a love for the great outdoors early on. With years of experience as a wilderness guide, he’s navigated rugged terrains and unpredictable weather patterns. John is also an avid hunter and fisherman who believes in sustainable living. His focus on practical survival skills, from building shelters to purifying water, reflects his passion for preparedness. When he’s not out in the wild, you can find him sharing his knowledge through writing, hoping to inspire others to embrace self-reliance.
