They broke his jaw and left him unconscious. An SC prison officer watched, suit says

A Broad River Correctional Institution officer allegedly stood by and watched as inmates beat a man with a pipe, giving him a concussion and a "severely fractured jaw," according to a lawsuit filed in Richland County last week.

The lawsuit, filed against the South Carolina Department of Corrections, is one of many filed in the wake of a deadly riot at Lee Correctional, which allege understaffing throughout the prison system, a culture of violence and a systematic failure to protect the incarcerated.

According to the lawsuit, CD Cash — imprisoned in 2014 for voluntary manslaughter — was approached in August 2017 by members of the gang the Bloods while incarcerated at Broad River. The Bloods told Cash he needed to request a new cell assignment as they had been using his to more contraband.

Cash made many requests to transfer cells, according to the suit, but all requests were denied.

He was confronted again a month later by the same group of inmates, who were now armed, according to the suit. Cash ran out of the building and into the yard to escape the prisoners.

Correctional Officers found him and ordered him to go back to his cell, but Cash refused. Cash — who has no disciplinary actions on his record — was written up for disobeying orders and transferred to lockup.

After being placed back into his prison unit a month later, Cash was being led to his cell when a correctional officer placed him in an open area and allegedly locked the door as she left, according to the lawsuit. Cash was then attacked by several inmates with knives and pipes, leaving him with injuries to his eye, ribs, lip and tooth.

Cash was interviewed by Department of Corrections investigators about the assault, according to the lawsuit. As he left, he ran into a correctional officer, who Cash thought was under investigation for running contraband into the prison.

The lawsuit alleges that correctional officer began spreading rumors that Cash "snitched" on him or her, which can be deadly in a prison environment.

On December 19, the lawsuit says that correctional officer unlocked Cash's cell door and allowed two inmates to attack him, all while standing a few feet away "with a clear view of the assault." Cash was knocked unconscious.

The officer then said Cash must have "fallen in the shower," according to the lawsuit. After about three hours, Cash was taken to medical and, later, a hospital.

The lawsuit accuses the S.C. Department of Corrections of gross negligence.