Wednesday, Jul. 23, 2008

Man kicked by ex-trooper sues him, DPS

Suspect had led officers on chase in dump truck in 2006

The dump truck driver who was kicked repeatedly in the head during his arrest in Sumter in 2006 is suing a former trooper and the S.C. Department of Public Safety.

The lawsuit filed by Sergio Caridi in Florence County alleges he suffered “significant physical injuries and damages, including, but not limited to, severe bruising to his face, head, neck and back, facial lacerations ... substantial medical and other expenses and has been prevented from transacting his usual business.”

Caridi, of New York, claims former Cpl. John B. Sawyer used excessive force and therefore deprived him of his constitutional rights to due process and right to be free from unreasonable arrest.

The suit claims the Department of Public Safety was negligent in its training and supervision of Sawyer. Caridi claims he is entitled to actual and compensatory damages from Sawyer and DPS.

Department spokesman Sid Gaulden said he had not seen the lawsuit and declined to comment.

John O’Leary, an attorney representing Sawyer, said the same.

In a widely viewed video, recorded from a trooper’s dashboard camera, Sawyer is seen running up to Caridi and repeatedly kicking him after the man lay on the ground as ordered by officers.

Caridi had been ordered out of the dump truck he was driving after a high-speed chase on I-95 on May 28, 2006.

He also was shot with a stun gun from another officer on the scene, handcufffed and taken to the Florence County Detention Center, according to the lawsuit. He was released in June 2006.

Caridi is charged with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature after police said he hit a car during the chase. He also is charged with failure to stop for blue lights, resisting arrest, driving under the influence and driving without a license, according to the Florence County Detention Center Web site. Caridi, whose trial is pending, is free on bail.

On Thursday, Sawyer was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges he violated Caridi’s constitutional right to be free from the use of unreasonable force by a police officer during the arrest.

Sawyer faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence and a $250,000 fine if convicted on the federal charge.

Sawyer, a trooper since 2000, resigned during an internal affairs investigation in 2006. He then went to work for the Marion County Sheriff’s Department but is no longer there, a spokeswoman said.

The State Law Enforcement Division investigated Sawyer’s actions, but 12th Circuit Solicitor Ed Clements declined to issue criminal charges against the trooper, internal affairs records show.

Reach Tate at (803) 771-8549.