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Attorneys in the office of former U.S. attorney Pete Strom have filed a lawsuit against the Sumter County, South Carolina sheriff’s office – accusing the agency of “gross negligence” before, during and after a violent jailhouse “shank” attack.
According to the lawsuit, the incident which led to the claim occurred on November 29, 2023 in “Bravo pod” at the Sumter-Lee regional detention center in Mulberry, S.C. On that date, the suit alleged that detainee James Edward Bell violently attacked Roger Gooden – the plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Bell’s cell was supposed to have been locked at the time of the assault, the lawsuit alleged. The pod was also supposed to have been supervised by detention center officers. It wasn’t on this occasion, per the complaint.
In fact, “Bravo pod was regularly left unsupervised,” the lawsuit claimed.
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Gooden, 43, of Sumter, S.C., suffered a horrific assault at Bell’s hands as a result of this alleged negligence, the lawsuit claimed.
“(Bell) exited his cell and approached (Gooden) in an aggressive manner,” the compliant noted.
Faced with this aggression, Gooden walked away from Bell and moved to another area of the pod “to avoid any confrontation,” per the complaint. Bell followed him, and allegedly attacked him “with his fists and a jail-fashioned ‘shank.'”
“Bell punched and kicked (Gooden) all over his head and body,” the lawsuit alleged. “Bell’s violent attack… continued for five minutes and culminated in Bell’s final swing, when Bell stabbed (Gooden)’s eye socket with the shank.”
In addition to failing to properly monitor the facility, the lawsuit accused the detention center of providing inadequate medical care to Gooden.
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“Despite his severe injuries, Gooden was juggled to multiple hospitals and returned to the (the detention center) where he was denied his prescribed pain medication for several days while he waited for surgery to remove his eye,” a release from the Strom law firm noted. “Following surgery, Gooden was immediately returned to the (detention center) where he was again denied his prescription medication and received no post-surgical follow up care.
“The (detention center) says its primary responsibility is to provide humane treatment and security to its detainees,” said Strom attorney Alexandra Benevento. “They failed to do either for Roger Gooden.”
“The public should be outraged at the Sumter-Lee Regional Detention Center’s lack of humanity,” Benevento’s colleague Bakari Sellers added. “What happened to Mr. Gooden is absolutely inexcusable.”
Stay tuned to this media outlet for more on this developing story…
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UPDATE |
Detainee in ‘shank’ attack was already facing a death penalty rap.
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THE COMPLAINT…
(S.C. Third Judicial Circuit)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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