Cop asks woman for number after arrest as another punches her boyfriend, SC lawsuit says
A woman was cold and exposed on a roadside after a South Carolina officer knocked her to the ground, she says.
Jessica Lane Hartley says a deputy also turned off his patrol car’s camera and asked for her phone number on their way to jail, according to a lawsuit filed last month against Greenville County and its sheriff’s office.
Thomas Charles Jones, her boyfriend at the time of the alleged incident in November 2017, is also suing the agencies, court records show.
Greenville authorities as of Friday morning didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
Lt. Ryan Flood, a sheriff’s office spokesperson, said the deputy who took the woman to jail violated policy and was suspended eight hours, the Greenville News reports. Flood told the newspaper the case was reviewed internally, and officers were “exonerated” for their behavior during the arrest.
The lawsuits say Hartley and Jones were in a Toyota Corolla with another person when the car stalled at an intersection in Welcome, roughly 4 miles west of Greenville.
As they tried to push the car out of the road, a deputy “angrily demanded” an ID from Jones, he said in the lawsuit..
When Jones took out his cellphone to call his family, the officer punched him in the face, leaving him “dazed and hurt,” according to the lawsuit.
As he spit blood, deputies threw him to the ground, which broke his phone and gave him more injuries, the lawsuit says.
A deputy had him pinned to the pavement before Jones told the officers they were “doing him wrong,” the court filing says.
One of the deputies laughed and said: “Hey, you can file a complaint or call my supervisor. Oh, that’s me,” according to the document.
Hartley says she was kneeling next to her boyfriend and started to stand up.
A deputy pushed her to the ground and handcuffed her, according to her lawsuit.
“At this time, Jessica’s dress was pulled up to her shoulders, exposing that all she was wearing underneath was thong underwear,” the lawsuit says.
She says she was in that position for “about five minutes” before a deputy helped her onto her feet.
The officer started talking about her boyfriend, saying: “Why are you so worried about him? You are too pretty. He is trash,” according to the lawsuit.
A cop later offered to take her to jail and cut off the camera in his car, the court filing says.
There, he wrote a note asking to call Hartley, the lawsuit says.
When Hartley got out of jail, she discovered the deputy had texted her, according to the lawsuit.
Both Hartley and Jones faced criminal charges, including disorderly conduct, but the cases were later dismissed, according to court records and the Greenville News.
The lawsuits allege gross negligence, false imprisonment and other claims.
Greenville County Sheriff Will Lewis was removed from office after he was found guilty of misconduct in October, The State previously reported. He was accused of using tax dollars to pursue an affair with his assistant.
