No charges will be filed against the Charleston County, South Carolina, officers who tased Jamal Sutherland outside his jail cell in January, according to reporter Carter Coyle.
Sutherland died in custody outside his cell after refusing to go to a bond hearing.
Solicitor Scarlett Wilson announced her decision Monday, Coyle reported.
A coroner changed the death certificate of Sutherland, a mentally ill Black man, earlier this year to say he died by homicide, attorneys for the man’s relatives said in June.
Although the certificate originally indicated Sutherland’s manner of death was “undetermined,” Charleston County Coroner Bobbi O’Neal amended the document in June, according to a statement from attorneys Mark Peper and Gary Christmas.
Sutherland’s death in January gained national attention after county officials released video months later showing deputies attempting to take Sutherland to a bond court appearance the day after he was booked into jail.
WARNING: Video might not be suitable for all ages.
The footage shows that after Sutherland refused to leave his cell, deputies deployed stun guns and used pepper spray on him. “I can’t breathe,” Sutherland said while handcuffed as one officer knelt on his back for more than two minutes. An hour later, he was pronounced dead, officials reported.
The “homicide” determination didn’t mean a crime was committed in Sutherland’s death, Wilson said in a previous statement. In June, Wilson cited the National Association of Medical Examiners in saying the term “homicide” on a death certificate is considered a neutral term that doesn’t imply criminal intent.
Sutherland, 31, was originally booked on charges of third-degree assault and battery, a misdemeanor. His parents had placed him at Palmetto Behavioral Health, a mental health and substance abuse center, for treatment of his schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Officials said they were called to investigate a fight at the center and arrested Sutherland as a result.
Peper, the family’s attorney, has previously said Sutherland’s illness was so severe he should never have been held in a nonmedical portion of the jail.
The county has since agreed to pay Sutherland’s family $10 million, one of the more expensive payouts to families of those killed by police across the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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