Man beaten at Marlboro County Detention Center sues sheriff’s office in federal court
MARLBORO COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A man who was beaten at the Marlboro County Detention Center last May is suing the sheriff’s office and the officer charged in the incident.
Morgan Ridges, 54, of Bennettsville, is charged with third-degree assault and battery and misconduct in office in connection with the May 3 incident.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Florence by the victim, Eldred Joe. It alleges gross negligence against the Marlboro County Sheriff’s Office.
Bennettsville police on May 3 responded to a call about a suspicious male attempting to pull up bushes from various businesses, according to the lawsuit. When officers made contact with Joe, he tried to flee multiple times before he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct. The charge was dropped on Jan. 3.
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Joe was then brought to the detention center for booking, but he became uncooperative with staff members, which resulted in them putting him on his stomach, the lawsuit said. After that, Joe was placed in a holding cell and the Bennettsville officers returned to normal patrol duties.
According to the lawsuit, sometime after the officers left, Ridges started “brutalizing” Joe. Ridges is accused of using his right foot to pin Joe’s head to the floor, which resulted in him standing on his head.
Ridges then stomped on and kicked Joe’s head, causing his head to hit the floor, the lawsuit said. Ridges tried putting a “spit mask” on Joe’s face, but his head kept moving. He then allegedly responded by hitting Joe in the face with a closed fist.
Two Bennettsville officers were assigned to take Joe to McLeod Health in Dillon for a mental health evaluation. Joe, according to the lawsuit, suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, but was not receiving treatment or taking medication at the time.
When Joe was brought to McLeod Health, officers noticed after they removed his handcuffs that he had abrasions on both of his wrists, the lawsuit said. Medical staff also noticed Joe’s hands were swollen because of the tightly fasted handcuffs.
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Joe’s injuries required 12 days of hospitalization as well as a follow-up treatment when he returned to Florida, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit alleges, among several other things, that despite knowing that Joe was unarmed and handcuffed, Ridges “nevertheless brutally assaulted” him.
The sheriff’s office is also liable, according to the lawsuit, because the department had a duty to protect Joe while he was in custody.
Ridges was also fired from the same jail in June 2021 for “failure to follow the proper call in procedure to inform administrator or shift supervisor that he would not be reporting to work on scheduled work day,” according to documents obtained by News13 from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. Ridges started working at the detention center in October 2019.
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial and unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as attorney fees.
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