The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

South Carolina deputies are fired after video shows them shocking mentally ill Black man with Taser before he died in jail

Protesters raise their fists, calling for justice for Jamal Sutherland on May 18 in Charleston, S.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Two Charleston County, S.C., sheriff’s deputies were fired Monday after body-cam footage showed them repeatedly using a Taser on Jamal Sutherland, a Black man with mental illness, in jail shortly before he died in January.

The announcement from Charleston County Sheriff Kristin Graziano about the dismissal of Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and Deputy Brian Houle came after footage released by the South Carolina sheriff’s office last week showed Sutherland, 31 — who was arrested at a psychiatric facility where he was receiving mental health treatment — being shocked multiple times and pepper-sprayed by officers. He said he couldn’t breathe as they attempted to forcibly remove him from his cell for a bond hearing. Sutherland, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, died less than two hours later.

Fickett and Houle were on administrative leave before their dismissals on Monday. Fickett had been with the sheriff’s office since 2011, while Houle joined in 2016, Graziano said.

“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 tweeted.

Mentally ill man repeatedly shocked with Taser by deputies in jail shortly before he died, body-cam video shows

As an internal investigation of the fatal encounter continues, 9th Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson indicated that she expects to announce whether to file charges against the former deputies by the end of next month. It was not clear Tuesday whether Fickett and Houle had attorneys.

The county coroner has attributed Sutherland’s death in North Charleston, S.C., to what was described in his autopsy as an “excited state” with unfavorable effects from prescription drugs while police attempted to subdue him. But Sutherland’s manner of death remains “undetermined,” according to the coroner.

The release of the footage followed a wave of protests and public pressure against authorities to share video of Sutherland’s final moments. When it was released Thursday, the footage spurred outrage from the victim’s family, activists and the community, condemning law enforcement’s response to a man in need of help. Rep. Nancy Mace, a Republican lawmaker representing Charleston, has also questioned the sheriff’s handling of the case.

In a statement, Sutherland’s family thanked the community for pressuring the sheriff’s office to release the video, but called for more action.

“It is our hope that anyone who gave the orders to extract him from his cell and anyone who stood around and did nothing to prevent his death be immediately fired as well,” the family said in its statement. “We have always said and believed that God will bring to light those who have mistreated his people.”

Amy Sutherland spoke in Charleston, S.C., on May 14, after video showed sheriff’s deputies repeatedly using a Taser on her son before he died in police custody. (Video: Reuters)

Sutherland was arrested Jan. 4 after a fight broke out at Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health, a mental health facility. Sutherland, who reportedly indicated days before that he had been hearing voices, was accused of third-degree assault and battery, a misdemeanor, reported the Charleston Post and Courier. North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said in a video statement posted last week that police “safely” transferred Sutherland from the facility to the Al Cannon Detention Center.

Body-cam footage shows the deputies, Fickett and Houle, shouting at Sutherland to get on his stomach so he can be accompanied to a bond hearing at around 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 5. Sutherland, who is not initially visible in the video, is heard yelling and says to the officers that he can’t stand up. Sutherland ignored the requests of officers to come to the door of his cell to be handcuffed, according to video.

“Inmate is refusing to open the door, refusing to cuff up, taken an aggressive stance,” one of the deputies says in the body-cam footage. “He’s already said we have to use force on him.”

When one of the deputies attempts to handcuff and subdue Sutherland, the 31-year-old is heard yelling and thrashing, video shows. Moments later, Sutherland is shocked with a Taser multiple times and shrieks in pain.

“I’m not resisting, officer,” Sutherland says, according to body-cam footage.

It’s unclear how many times Sutherland was shocked, but Houle is later heard on video estimating that the man was struck “probably about six to eight times, at least.”

As he was being handcuffed, Houle placed his knee on Sutherland’s back for more than two minutes. Sutherland is heard on the video pleading to the officers: “I can’t breathe.”

Deputies lifted Sutherland, who appeared to be limp, into a wheelchair less than three minutes after they first stood outside his cell. “Is he all right?” one of the deputies asks. CPR was performed on Sutherland, but the efforts failed. He was pronounced dead after an hour of resuscitation attempts.

Graziano, who noted that she waited to release the video until she received the blessing from the man’s family to do so, said the deputies’ efforts to remove Sutherland from his cell “were complicated by the increasing effects that Mr. Sutherland was suffering.”

Mark Peper, an attorney for Sutherland’s family, criticized the measures taken by law enforcement, saying at a news conference last week, “The video speaks for itself.” A coalition of activists critical of the sheriff’s office’s handling of Sutherland said the man “was handled like an animal by correctional officers who had no regard for his altered mental state.”

After the release of the video, Graziano announced changes to better address the needs of inmates suffering from mental illness, including a policy to ensure that those in custody get the medications they need.

Read more:

No officers indicted in death of Daniel Prude, a Black man pinned and hooded during mental crisis

Navy veteran in mental health crisis died after police knelt on his neck for nearly five minutes, family says

Fatal police shootings of mentally ill people are 39 percent more likely to take place in small and midsized areas

Loading...