A Clayton County jail detainee who on video appeared to be thrown into an elevator wall by a former deputy five years ago has settled a $1 million lawsuit against the lawman .
Clayton County, which defended the former deputy, will pay Marlon Brown $15,000 for the 2017 incident, which has slowly weaved its way through state and federal courts.
Harry Daniels, an attorney for Brown, said the detainee wanted to end the legal pursuit and that Daniels followed that directive.
“The client controls how they want to settle a case,” Daniels said. “We didn’t believe the case should have resolved at that amount. But the client makes that decision and we went with it.”
The lawsuit, which originally included Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill and the county as defendants, is one of many that have been filed against Hill and other personnel at the Clayton Sheriff’s Office over the years.
Hill was indicted last year by federal authorities on four counts of violating the civil rights of jail detainees by strapping them into restraining chairs as punishment. The U.S. District Attorney’s Office has added three more counts in superseding indictments, most recently in March.
Hill, who has denied the charges, remains free on bond. Gov. Brian Kemp suspended him from duty last June. The sheriff and the county was later dropped from the Brown lawsuit.
The incident with Brown began when Brown, who was in jail on aggravated assault and other charges, was awaiting a hearing at the Banke Justice Center — Clayton County’s courthouse — on June 16, 2017, according to the lawsuit. After learning the judge would not see Brown that day, Deputy Patrick Fluellen proceeded to take Brown back to the jail.
Video appears to show Fluellen forcefully pushing Brown into an elevator at the courthouse. Brown’s face hit the wall before he fell to the floor. Brown, taken to a medical unit inside the courthouse, suffered injuries to his face, lips, ankles and wrists, including several cracked or chipped teeth, the lawsuit said.
Fluellen, in an incident report, alleged Brown had tripped on the elevator threshold. Clayton jail investigators accepted Fluellen’s narrative and Sheriff Hill “concluded that Fluellen’s conduct did not violate CCSO policy,” the lawsuit said.
That changed after the video, obtained by WSB-TV Channel 2, was released and Hill put Fluellen on administrative leave. Fluellen was later charged with aggravated battery and violation of oath of office in December 2018. A Clayton County grand jury did not indict Fluellen, according to court records.
Shortly after the video came to light Brown’s sister, Ashley Brown, told Channel 2 that her sibling had bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. She added that he had not taken his medication for six months prior to the incident.
“I want justice for my brother,” she said at the time. “I want my brother to understand that, even with his mental state, he’s still a human being.”
The Clayton County Commission unanimously approved the payment on Tuesday after an executive session.
Staff reporter Zachary Hanson contributed to this report
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