Midlands officer used excessive force with Taser, slammed handcuffed woman, suits say
Two people accuse a Chapin police officer of brutality during separate arrests that involved the use of a Taser in a traffic stop and an assault on a handcuffed woman in another, according to two lawsuits.
The plaintiffs filed the suits through their lawyer, Joshua Kendrick of Greenville, on Oct. 27 against Chapin Police Department Patrol Officer Blake Gainous.
Laywers for Gainous and the Chapin Police Department, Evan Gessner and Patrick Frawley, denied the allegations.
The lawsuits detail the alleged encounters with the officer.
On May 19, 2019, late at night, Gainous, a white man, was on patrol when a car driving recklessly passed him near Columbia Avenue and he tried to stop the driver. The driver, Meagan Washington, a Black woman of Little Mountain, South Carolina, didn’t want to pull over immediately because the road was dark and it was late. Less than a minute after Gainous turned on his blue lights, Washington pulled into a well-lit parking lot, her lawyer said.
After she stopped, Gainous ordered Washington to get out of the car and onto the ground, the suit claimed. She did as she was told and put her hands above her head for Gainous to see.
Gainous “violently dropped” onto Washington’s back to handcuff her, according to the suit. The officer lifted her by the cuffs, slammed her into her car and slammed her to the ground again.
Gainous charged Washington with reckless driving, failure to stop for police, attempting to escape custody, and assaulting an officer while resisting arrest, according to court records. She spent three nights in jail before posting $24,500 in bond.
The Lexington County solicitor’s office dropped all the charges against Washington except reckless driving, to which she pleaded guilty, records showed.
Four months later, Gainous used excessive force again in an arrest, a separate lawsuit claims.
On Sept. 21, 2019, Gainous got a call from an off duty officer about a car parked in the grass of the Publix parking lot in Chapin, the lawsuit said. Brandon Baney, a white man of Summerville, South Carolina, was in the car when Gainous pulled up. Gainous and Baney spoke, and Baney moved his car to another area of the parking lot.
A records check of the license tag on Baney’s car determined that Baney’s driver’s license was suspended for failing to pay a traffic ticket, according to the suit. Gainous stopped Baney and told him he was under arrest and to get out of the car.
Within seconds of asking the driver to get out, Gainous used his stun gun on Baney to incapacitate him and remove him from the vehicle, the suit claims.
Gainous charged Baney with resisting arrest and driving without a license, court records showed. Baney spent part of the day in jail before being let out.
The Lexington County solicitor’s office dropped the resisting arrest charge, according to records. Baney did not contest the driving without a license charge, which was his first such offense, in traffic court and he avoided further punishment.
Both suits said the force Gainous used was not needed and violated Chapin Police Department policy.
Washington and Baney are also suing the Town of Chapin, claiming its police department did not ensure that Gainous was fit to be an officer and did not properly train him.
Washington and Baney are asking a jury to make Gainous and Chapin pay for costs and lost money because of their arrests as well as punitive fines.
In court filings, Gainous’ lawyers said he “acted in accordance with the laws and regulations of the State of South Carolina” during the arrests.
“Gainous used reasonable and appropriate physical force,” his lawyers wrote.
The defense lawyers also rebuffed the suits by claiming Gainous has qualified immunity.
Qualified immunity shields police officers against lawsuits that stem from incidents while on duty.
Gainous’ file with the state Criminal Justice Academy shows he is still employed by the Chapin Police Department. The file contains no disciplinary action against him.
The suits were initially filed in South Carolina court but were moved to federal court.
This story was originally published December 30, 2020 at 2:07 PM.