REPARATIONS

Jamal Sutherland’s Family Will Receive $10 Million Settlement From Charleston County

Sutherland had told officers “I can’t breathe,” as they continued to use a Taser on him.

Charleston County has agreed to pay $10 million to the family of Jamal Sutherland, who died after being pepper-sprayed and tasered by police in January, The New York Times reports. Sutherland had initially been at a mental health facility, Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health, but was arrested and taken to Al Cannon Detention Center after he allegedly assaulted a staff worker. One day after his arrest, officers tried to get him out of his cell for a court hearing, but when Sutherland did not want to leave his cell, the officers pepper-sprayed him. He told the officers “I can’t breathe,” but they continued to Taser him anyway, and an officer even put a knee on his back, a video of the incident shows. The settlement comes on the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s death, and follows other major settlements, including a $10 million settlement for Andre Hill, a Black man who was killed by a police officer last year. The officers involved in Sutherland’s death, Sgt. Lindsay Fickett and Detention Deputy Brian Houle, have been fired but a pending investigation will determine whether the two should face criminal charges.