Filed Complaint: Estate of Jarvis Evans v. Don Reynolds, as Sheriff of Laurens County

A lawsuit has been filed against the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office following
the death of Jarvis Evans, a 40-year-old, mentally ill, black male, who was foundunresponsive in a holding cell at the R. Eugene Johnson Detention Center in Laurens, SC on July 30, 2021.

Prior to being left alone in the holding cell, body-worm cameras recorded Jarvis being forcefully placed in the prone position with a knee on his neck and back, his face covered by a spit mask, and jolted by a TASER drive-stun 3 times in less than 20 seconds, all while securely strapped to an emergency restraint chair. Having received no medical care for his injuries, Jarvis would be found unresponsive with his head laid back in the restraint chair less than 90 minutes later. He would be pronounced dead by hospital officials shortly thereafter and the manner of death deemed “Accident” by the Laurens County Medical Examiner.

In keeping with his official duty to operate and maintain the facility, Sheriff Don Reynolds is named as the sole defendant in the complaint alleging negligent training, negligent supervision, and negligent retention of his JDC Detention Deputies, which caused the death of Jarvis Evans.

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Click here to read the full filing.