I-TEAM: Use of force and maintaining public trust within the sheriff’s office

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – The I-TEAM uncovers a Richmond County deputy who was suspended for not following process.

We discovered after punching a person he was arresting within the face, a number of occasions, the deputy additionally didn’t report the usage of power again to his employer, the Sheriff’s Workplace.

That man who was hit, Cameron Ruff, got here to the I-TEAM claiming extreme use of power, and over a number of months of getting information on the case we discovered Ruff was proper.

Our I-TEAM is trying into public belief points that may come up in conditions like these.

Particularly because it was not till after the I-TEAM began asking questions that the Sheriff’s Workplace filed a use of power report and disciplined the deputy.

We needed to know why RSCO investigates itself and what different companies do as a substitute to take care of public belief.

Richmond County information present again on Oct. 18 of 2022, Deputy George Edenfield responded to Motel 6 on Boy Scout Highway.

911 name: “There was a verbal altercation with one other visitor. They need a felony trespass and for him to be delay the property.”

On the primary ground of the motel is the place Corporal Edenfield and Ruff bumped into one another.

Ruff says he’s been dwelling at Motel 6 for 2 years along with his girlfriend. Physique cam reveals after a heated argument within the foyer, the state of affairs will get bodily.

Ruff might be heard saying on the physique cam, “I’m going to let you know another time to not put your arms on me.”

The video reveals Ruff leaving to move upstairs the place his room is.

Corporal Edenfield follows him repeatedly telling him to seize his issues and depart the property.

After going forwards and backwards, Corporal Edenfield calls for an additional unit.

That’s when Deputy Ty Dailey will get on the scene.

“I didn’t haven’t any weapons, no medication, or nothing, and I didn’t trigger no hurt, and no one with me precipitated no hurt,” remembers Ruff to the I-TEAM.

Which is why what occurred subsequent remains to be so perplexing. Ruff says he walked round each deputies to depart.

That’s when the video reveals they determine to arrest him and take him to jail. Then, a wrestle begins.

Each deputies attempt to take Ruff downstairs within the elevator.

Ruff remembers his ideas in that second. “Please don’t allow them to take me in an elevator. Don’t allow them to shut that door. And he stated he couldn’t do nothing. And once they received me within the elevator, that was it.”

The bodycam video reveals after Ruff will get downstairs. Deputy Dailey struggles to get Ruff within the patrol automobile, that’s when he places him in a headlock and strikes him a number of occasions within the head.

You possibly can hear Deputy Dailey say on the bodycam that is “the third struggle they’ve had this week.”

Will Rioux: “Have been you scared at any level all through that?”

Ruff: “Completely. Completely.”

Just a few moments later, Corporal Edenfield unzips his vest and addresses everybody watching.

Ruff later got here to the I-TEAM, claiming deputies had used extreme power on him.

So, we requested the physique cam, coaching information, personnel recordsdata, and use of power experiences for each deputies. Initially, we requested the incident report eight days after Ruff was arrested.

The one factor the Sheriff’s Workplace supplied was a quotation for trespassing.

The I-TEAM later received Deputy Ty Dailey’s personnel file. The primary web page was a disciplinary report for Ruff’s arrest that night time.

That caught our eye due to the date. The I-TEAM first requested physique cam of the incident on Dec. 8.

The report reads on “December ninth, Inner Affairs notified a Lieutenant {that a} use of power report was not accomplished by Deputy Dailey on the date of Cameron’s arrest.”

That was the day after the preliminary request for information on this case from the I-TEAM.

It says a report was not accomplished till Dec. 12, and the sheriff’s workplace discovered the power used, was pointless.

Once more – after the I-TEAM first began asking questions.

In accordance with Richmond County Sheriff’s Workplace Coverage Guide, “use of power experiences shall be accomplished and submitted each time a deputy applies weaponless bodily power. That weaponless bodily power shall be outlined as hard-hand methods.”

That by no means occurred till the I-TEAM put in our first request for information, solely after our inquiry was Deputy Dailey suspended for seven days with out pay.

The handbook states “the Sheriff’s workplace additionally investigates itself together with use of power complaints.”

The I-TEAM needed to see how different companies examine complaints.

In Aiken, town created the residents’ evaluation board again in 2016, to work with the Division of Public Security on citizen complaints.

“Residents even have a proper to have issues questioned and seemed into,” says John Dangler, who’s the Chairman of the Aiken Residents Overview Board.

“We’re residents, we hear from residents. And our job is to be the voice and the voice of the residents in these complaints.”

They sometimes would look into complaints like those in Deputy Dailey’s personnel file that has a historical past of unsatisfactory efficiency, not utilizing his physique digicam on calls and getting bodily with folks whereas working specials, even putting somebody one time to the pinnacle with a closed fist.

“We’ve been in a position to make some actually good suggestions about little issues that we see, perhaps patterns which have emerged that appear like we’d want slightly extra coaching in a sure space,” explains Dangler.

In Aiken, it’s a partnership between town, the legislation enforcement company, and volunteer residents.

Anybody can submit a criticism that shall be checked out by the board and a advice shall be made to the Aiken Division of Public Security. They estimate that they see about 20 to 25 instances a 12 months within the metropolis.

Will Rioux to Dangler: “Do you are feeling like a board like this helps construct belief between the neighborhood and legislation enforcement?”

Dangler: “I feel so. I feel that that was the intention from the very starting.”

The I-TEAM discovered in response to the Nationwide Affiliation for Civilian Oversight of Regulation Enforcement, there are greater than 160 municipalities which have some type of oversight of legislation enforcement companies.

“The presence of the residents evaluation board makes them do their job higher, ” provides Chairman Dangler.

We needed to grasp extra about why Richmond County Sheriff’s Workplace investigates itself. So, we reached out in writing to ask for an interview. We needed to know the way they examine their deputies and in the event that they’d be open to the concept of a citizen’s evaluation board.

They replied with this e mail writing, “We respectfully decline your request for an interview.”

As for Ruff, he’s left with bumps and bruises, a courtroom date, and a prolonged ER invoice.

“It was all incorrect.” He says. “You already know, every part. Simply the emotional about it was all incorrect, you understand? I imply, I don’t see no justice in it.”

We seemed on the Richmond County Sheriff’s Workplace web site to see if we may discover out extra about these two deputies. We discovered that each deputies are Corporals, which means they’re supervisors.

Our supply for the Richmond County Sheriff’s Workplace to share their facet of the state of affairs nonetheless stands.

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