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25 Apr

Posted at 15:06h in Uncategorized
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO PAY $700,000 TO ESTATE OF INMATE WHO DIED IN FEDERAL PRISON

Charleston County, SC – The Peper Law Firm, PA of Charleston, SC and Stewart Tilghman Fox
Bianchi & Cain, P.A. of Miami, FL are pleased to announce a $700,000 settlement on behalf
of the Estate of Davon Gillians. The settlement was approved in the Charleston County Court
of Common Pleas on February 26, 2024.

As alleged in the complaint filed February 28, 2022, in the US District Court for the Middle District
of Florida, Ocala Division, the custom and culture created within FCI Coleman gave correctional
officers free reign to physically assault and restrain, punish at will, and refuse medical treatment
to inmates in violation of their 8th Am. rights to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. This
pattern of illegal behavior directly caused the death of Mr. Gillians on May 19, 2021, less than a
year before the 24-year-old resident of Charleston, SC was scheduled to be released.

As alleged in the filed complaint, FCI Coleman correctional officers removed Mr. Gillians from
his assigned cell, punched and choked him to the point of unconsciousness, strapped him in a
restraint chair, and placed him in solitary confinement for over 48 hours. After being deprived of
food, water, and medical care, officers then placed him in a single cell assigned to an inmate with
a known propensity to violently attack others due to his severe mental health condition. After
watching Mr. Gillians sustain additional injuries, correctional officers violently extracted Mr.
Gillians from the cell, repeatedly sprayed him with OC spray, and once again strapped him to a
restraint chair until he succumbed to his injuries on May 19, 2021. Mr. Gillians cause of death
was determined to be a “vaso-occlusive crisis complicated by oleoresin capsicum (pepper spray)
use and prolonged restraint following altercation.” The manner of death, Homicide.
Lead attorney Mark A. Peper of the Peper Law Firm in Charleston, South Carolina issued the
following statement:

“In bringing this lawsuit, our goal was to hold all individuals responsible for his
death accountable for their actions. What these Defendants did to our client is
unconscionable and cannot be tolerated in a civil society. While no amount of
money is enough to compensate the family, we’re pleased that none of the involved
officers remain employed by FCI Coleman, and we hope our efforts will cause all
prisons to end this custom and practice once and for all, while simultaneously
providing a sense of justice for Mr. Gillian’s family.”

The filed complaint and Order Approving Settlement is available for download at
www.peperlawfirm.com/InTheNews.

DOWNLOAD PRESS RELEASE

DOWNLOAD FILED COMPLAINT

DOWNLOAD ORDER APPROVING SETTLEMENT

23 Apr

Posted at 15:04h in News

April 23, 2024

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LT. ALAN ALI RELEASES STATEMENT ON ORDER DENYING BALLOT ACCESS

Charleston County, SC – A South Carolina Circuit Court Judge issued an Order today adopting the position of the SC Democratic Party that, regardless of what the Constitution and laws of South Carolina say, the party has a right to adopt, apply, and enforce its own rules whenever and however it pleases.

The order itself fails to analyze the legal argument made by Lt. Ali. More specifically, the Order completely ignores the evidence presented in support of his argument that the party rule cited as the reason for refusing to certify him violates his constitutional right to due process and equal protection. In fact, and despite providing the Court with evidence of same, the Order fails to even consider that multiple lifelong Republicans who previously ran as Republican candidates were recently certified by the Democratic Party to run as Democrats.

In response to the ruling, Lt. Ali issued the following statement:

“I am disappointed with today’s decision that says the Democratic Party can do whatever they want, whenever they want, to protect party incumbents and prevent the voters from having a choice at the ballot. I have no problem with the party having their own rules, but they should be required to apply them equally to everyone. That is what the law requires and what our citizens demand. The fight to give voters the ability to choose their next Sheriff is not over. I believe in our Constitution, and I’m not laying down.”

Lead attorney Mark A. Peper of The Peper Law Firm, PA issued the following statement:

“Lt. Ali is disappointed with today’s decision and is prayerfully contemplating his next steps. While I firmly believe an appeal of this Order to the South Carolina Supreme Court would be prudent, it would have to be briefed, argued, and ruled upon in the next 48 hours to avoid postponing the June 11 primary, which admittedly, would take a herculean effort. That said, our team remains ready and able to fight this injustice and will continue to advise and support Lt. Ali, his family, and all who stand for democracy.”

For media inquiries, please contact:

mark@peperlawfirm.com / alanali@bellsouth.net

VIEW FILED ORDER

17 Aug

Posted at 12:05h in News

Original Source: Post & Courier

A lawsuit was filed Aug. 15 against Laurens County Sheriff Don Reynolds in connection with the death of Jarvis Evans, who was found unresponsive in a holding cell after being restrained and Tasered.

Mark Peper, of Charleston-based The Peper Law Firm, filed the lawsuit with the 8th Judicial Circuit on behalf of Evans’ mother, Catherine Cullen Evans. Rosalyn Henderson-Myers is also representing the Evans family in the case.

Peper said a second lawsuit would be filed against the deputies involved.

“We are going to hold them accountable,” Peper said during a news conference Aug. 16. “We are going to hold them accountable for tasing a restrained Black man, for taking him to jail when he should have gone to a hospital.”

Laurens County sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Courtney Snow told The Post and Courier on Aug. 17 that the Sheriff’s Office had no comment on the lawsuit.

The July 30, 2021, death of Evans bears close similarities to an incident in Charleston County.

In May 2021, Jamal Sutherland, a 31-year-old Black man with mental illness, died in the county jail after he was pepper-sprayed, shocked with Tasers, and restrained. The county reached a $10 million settlement with Sutherland’s family, who were also represented by Peper.

The lawsuit in Laurens County is based around a 911 call made by Evans and deputy bodycam footage inside the jail. A link to a compiled video was provided by The Peper Law Firm.

Evans, 40, called 911 on July 29, 2021, and said he was “afraid for his life because there were people with guns in his house.” Evans’ mother arrived at the scene and told the operator her son was mentally ill and possibly on drugs, according to the lawsuit.

Evans was not taken to the hospital by deputies. He was charged with breach of peace and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors, and taken to the R. Eugene Johnson Detention Center at 10:56 p.m.

The video, which is time-stamped, shows deputies held a struggling Evans by the neck, pinned him on the ground to switch restraints and put a spit mask on him.

“JDC deputies refused to contact and request appropriate medical intervention from Southern Health,” the lawsuit claims. “JDC deputies lifted (Evans), who was already restrained behind the back by handcuffs, leg restraints and a spit mask, off the ground and into an emergency restraint chair to punish him.”

A Taser was used at least three times on Evans while several deputies tried to restrain him in the chair, which can be seen and heard in the video. Evans was then wheeled into a holding cell.

A deputy later noticed Evans was unresponsive in the holding cell, according to the lawsuit. Laurens County Emergency Medical Services responded and transported Evans to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:59 a.m.

According to the lawsuit, Evans was taken directly to the hospital on two previous instances when deputies responded to his home — in December 2018 and January 2021.

Catherine Evans said on Aug. 16 her son should have received medical care and believed the Laurens County Sheriff’s Office should be held responsible for her son’s death.

16 Aug

Posted at 10:21h in Uncategorized

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.

Click here to watch the video.

Click here to read the full filing.

 

27 May

Posted at 16:29h in News

Original Source: Live 5 News

Charleston County Council’s unanimous vote Wednesday night on a $10 million settlement in the death of Jamal Sutherland means the county will have to dip into its coffers to pay the majority of the cost.

Sutherland is the man who died while in custody on Jan. 5 at the Charleston County jail.

His death came approximately 10 hours after North Charleston Police took him to the jail from Palmetto Behavioral Health where he was being treated for a mental health condition. Police responded to the facility after receiving a 911 call about a fight that had broken out.

Sutherland wound up being charged with third-degree assault and battery but became unresponsive as detention deputies worked to forcibly remove him from his cell so that he could attend a bond hearing. Deputies used tasers and dragged him out of the cell.

No one has been criminally charged, despite demands from Sutherland’s family and activist groups.

Injury attorney Mark Bringardner says the $10 million settlement is the largest civil rights settlement in the state of South Carolina.

“And it’s a sizable settlement, but I will say that it’s not out of line with other cases like that,” he says.

Mark Peper, the attorney representing the Sutherland family, said his staff also determined this is the largest civil rights settlement after looking through similar payments dating back to 2015. At that time, the $6.5 million Walter Scott settlement was the largest such payout.

Of the $10 million, Charleston County will pay $8 million. The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office and the North Charleston Police Department will each pay $1 million.

But Bringardner says it’s not “case closed.”

Peper confirmed they are still looking to settle with Palmetto Behavioral Health, the North Charleston facility where Sutherland was arrested for assaulting a staff member. The family is also looking to settle with Wellpath, the contract company that provides medical workers at the Charleston County jail.

“So this is a good first step in providing closure to the family, providing some sense of justice to them,” Bringardner says. “But money can only do so much. It’s the best we have under our civil justice system to exchange money for injury or loss of life. But really what we try to do as lawyers is to pursue policy changes so there’s a systemic reaction to help make people in Mr. Sutherland’s situation safer.”

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace says she hopes new laws and federal grants can help prevent this from ever happening again.

“Different ways we can treat folks when police or 911 is called and one example is to have a mental health professional on call when police are called,” she said.

Mace says we desperately need more data about mental health issues in prisons and jails to prevent mistreatment as well as costly settlements.

“All of us in the Charleston community want to see justice for Jamal and this is one step forward toward doing that,” she said.

The settlement now needs to be filed with the court and approved by a judge.

The two deputies involved were fired and Peper says they are both part of this $10 million agreement, meaning they will not be sued individually in a civil case.

But as for criminal charges, Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said she hopes to decide whether charges can be filed by the end of June depending on investigations that are still underway.

26 May

Posted at 16:27h in News

Original Source: Yahoo News

“We know that no amount of money will bring their loved one back, but I think this starts the healing process,” said Council Chairman Teddie Pryor.

The family of Jamal Sutherland has received a $10 million settlement in the wake of his wrongful jailhouse death.

On Tuesday, the Charleston County council unanimously approved the $10 million settlement, NBC News reports.

“I am so happy that it was a unanimous decision to do what is right by the Sutherland family,” said Council Chairman Teddie Pryor. “We know that no amount of money will bring their loved one back, but I think this starts the healing process.”

In January, 31-year-old Sutherland died after two deputies attempted to forcibly remove Sutherland from a jail cell. The day before, Sutherland was arrested after a fight at the Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health psychiatric facility where he was receiving mental health treatment, NBC News reports.

“He was already afraid and confused about the situation and there was nobody in there to talk to him with any compassion. Those individuals that are responsible, they need to be let go,” said Jamal Sutherland’s father, James Sutherland, during a press conference earlier this month.

Video footage of Sutherland’s struggle with deputies at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center was released by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office on May 12. In it, Sutherland is seen crying out in pain and laying on the floor as a deputy tased him repeatedly. The 31-year-old died roughly an hour and 15 minutes after the incident. Two officers have been identified as Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and Detention Deputy Brian Houle and both were fired on May 17, CNN reports.

The local outrage incited by the release of the video led to many protests in Charleston. Some protestors pointed out that the details of Sutherland’s brutal encounter were painfully reminiscent of those of George Floyd‘s murder. At one point during the struggle, Houle had his knee on Sutherland’s neck while Sutherland was handcuffed. He’s heard saying “I can’t breathe”.

“Mental illness does not give anyone the right to put their hands on my child… I had 16 surgeries and Jamal never left my side, even when he was going to the mental hospital he wanted to make sure that his mom was alright,” said Sutherland’s mother, Amy Sutherland. “Remember, he is a human being. He is not an animal. He was treated like one, but that’s not who he was.”

Last week, Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson said that the investigation into criminal charges for the officers involved is ongoing. In her statement, Wilson noted that Sutherland’s autopsy stated that he died “as a result of excited state with pharmacotherapeutic effect during subdual process,” and the review of the extrication process did not reveal any “unusual or excessive interactions or areas of direct concern.”

Wilson said those results “raised many questions” for her and she is seeking a second opinion.

26 May

Posted at 16:26h in News

Original Source: USA Today

Officials agreed Tuesday to pay $10 million to the family of a Black man who died after two sheriff’s deputies used pepper spray and stun guns on him in a South Carolina jail in January.

The Charleston County Council unanimously approved the settlement for the family of Jamal Sutherland, 31, as the country marked the one-year anniversary of the killing of George Floyd on Tuesday. Council Chairman Teddie Pryor said at the meeting he had met with Sutherland’s family and pledged to work on reform.

“We know that no amount of money will bring their loved one back, but I think this starts the healing process,” Pryor said. “This should never happen to anyone ever again. Ever.”

Sutherland was arrested after officers were called to investigate a fight at Palmetto Behavioral Health, a mental health and substance abuse center. He was booked into jail Jan. 4 on charges of third-degree assault and battery.

The next morning, the deputies arrived to take him to a court appearance, then repeatedly tased him after he refused to be handcuffed and leave his cell, according to video released by the county May 13. The deputies repeatedly ordered him to kneel,  and they pepper-sprayed him, video shows.

One deputy put his knee on Sutherland’s back for more than two minutes as he was handcuffed. Sutherland said, “I can’t breathe.”

An hour later, he was pronounced dead. His death brought protests and calls for criminal charges.

An initial statement released on Sutherland’s death said deputies “reported an unresponsive inmate” and notified state police, per standard procedure. The deputies were placed on administrative leave with pay.

Mark Peper, an attorney for the Sutherland family, said that Sutherland’s schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were so severe that he should never have been held in a nonmedical portion of the jail and that the video portrayed a “use of force that was so unnecessary and excessive that there are no words.”

Days after video of Sutherland’s death was released, Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano announced she was terminating detention Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and detention Deputy Brian Houle for their involvement.

“I must weigh the interest of public safety for the community against any incident that creates even the perception of an impairment to the operation of the Detention Center for the safety of all residents, staff and our community,” Graziano said in a statement.

The local prosecutor, 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson, said last week her office was investigating to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

Wilson said she is seeking expert opinions on use of force in a detention setting. She hopes to conclude the investigation by the end of June, local media reported.

26 May

Posted at 16:15h in News

Original Source: New York Times:

Charleston County, S.C. officials unanimously approved an agreement with the family of Jamal Sutherland, who died in January, when sheriff’s duties used pepper spray and tasers on him.

A county in South Carolina on Tuesday agreed to pay $ 10 million to the family of a black man who died in January, when sheriff’s deputies shot pepper spray and tessers at him in a prison closet. Used, as he told them, “I can’t breathe,” officials said.

In a unanimous vote, Charleston County Council approved the settlement of the death of 31-year-old Jamal Sutherland, who was then taken from the mental health facility to the county jail.

His death on 5 January has attracted protests and comparisons to the murder of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.

The agreement came after several Americans stayed on Tuesday to recall Mr. Floyd a year after his death, which became the catalyst for a nationwide enumeration on police brutality and systemic racism.

This occurred on May 17 following the shootings of two deputies involved in Mr. Sutherland’s death, an encounter shown in graphic video footage that was released this month by the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office. One of the deputy placed a knee on Mr. Sutherland’s back.

Before the settlement was approved, the county and Sutherland families engaged in arbitration negotiations in an effort to avoid formal litigation, the television station WCSC reported. According to local news media outlets, the council’s Finance Committee had previously recommended that the full council approve the $ 10 million agreement.

Councilman Teddy E. Prior Senior said during the meeting that he had promised the Sutherland family that he would look into what improvements could be made in public safety.

“It should never happen to anyone again,” Mr. Prior said. “sometimes.”

A lawyer for Mr. Sutherland’s family did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday night.

The payment adds to the list of eight-figure settlements in several high-profile murders of black people involving law enforcement officers. In March, Mr. Floyd’s family signed a $ 27 million settlement with the city of Minneapolis. Earlier this month, authorities in Columbus, Ohio, agreed to pay $ 10 million to the family of Andre Hill, a black man who was badly shot by a police officer in a garage in December was.

C. Brentley Moody, a member of the Charleston County Council, said during a group meeting on Tuesday that he was struggling with whether to endorse the agreement. He admitted that “globally, this race at the courthouse” bothered him.

“What was done was a terrible injustice,” Mr. Moody said. “But how do you solve it? I don’t know what the answer is.”

The local prosecutor is expected to decide in June whether the deputation, Sergeant. Lindsey Fickett and Detention Deputy Brian Houle will face criminal charges in Mr. Sutherland’s death. The Ninth Circuit Solicitor, prosecutor, Scarlett A. Wilson, said earlier this month that she was reviewing the results of an investigation into the actions of deputies conducted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division.

Ms. Fickett and Mr. Houle were placed on administrative leave before their firing was announced on May 17 Twitter By Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano.

Deputies were trying to extricate Mr. Sutherland from a closet at the county jail’s Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center to take him to court for a bond hearing on January 5, when the fatal encounter occurred.

In the video footage released by the sheriff, deputies were seen firing a taser at Mr. Sutherland’s cell using pepper spray twice. Mr. Sutherland was killed by Tesser six to eight times, Mr. Houle later said in the video.

The video showed Mr. Sutherland moaning on the ground before he eventually lost consciousness. Shortly thereafter, he was pronounced dead, with a pathologist ruling that the manner of his death was “uncertain”. The pathologist stated that Mr. Sutherland died “as a result of an agitated state with pharmacotherapeutic effects during the sub-procedure.”

The officials would not discuss the results of the autopsy further and said that the post-mortem examination report would not be released as it was not a public document.

Mr Sutherland was taken to jail from Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health, a mental health facility, where he was arrested after a fight on 4 January. Mental health center staff told responding officers that Mr. Sutherland had assaulted a staff member. He and another patient were charged with third-degree assault and battery Post and courier Of Charleston.

On the day of his arrest, a video showed Mr. Sutherland in distress. He shouted “Let me go” at the authorities and spoke of intrigues, including references to the Illuminati, the group – real and fictional – dating back centuries and possessing special knowledge.

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