One of the Richmond County Sheriff officers involved in the arrest of a man who suffered a fatal brain injury in their custody has been named in an unrelated federal lawsuit.
Kathy Sheppard, a 51-year-old grandmother, filed suit last month against Sheriff Investigator Richard Russell accusing him of excessive force, unlawful detention and false statements.
Russell and three deputies were involved in the pursuit and arrest of 24-year-old Jermaine Jones Jr. who died of a fatal head injury a week after the Oct. 11, 2021 encounter with the Richmond County Sheriff’s officers. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation turned over its investigative report to District Attorney Jared Williams six months ago, but Williams has not either taken the case to the grand jury or issued any public announcement on the case.
What caused Jones’ fatal head injury has never been explained. He was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for a traffic violation. Officers then searched the vehicle, finding a weapon. Jones ran from the scene.
Sheppard alleges in her lawsuit that Russell pulled and pointed his weapon at her, forced her out of her vehicle, choked her and took her to the ground for no reason. Sheppard, who has worked as a school custodian for over 20 years in Augusta, doesn’t have so much as a speeding ticket in Richmond County.
According to her lawsuit, on May 16, 2020, Sheppard went to visit family at Olmstead Homes when she encountered Russell. She contends she was arrested without cause and jailed for 16 hours. The lawsuit further states that Russell falsely claimed he was investigating the possibility the vehicle Sheppard got into was stolen, and he had to use force to get her into handcuffs after she reached for a gun.
No criminal charge against Sheppard was filed.
Russell, who resigned in February, was hired by the Sheriff’s Department in July 2015. According to his personnel file, he was proactive and hard-working. He was twice commended by the sheriff — once for his work in the apprehension of a robbery suspect, and a second time for performing CPR on a man pulled from a house fire on March 5, 2019.
His personnel file also contains a few notes about Russell’s need to show concern and empathy for people he encountered, and to show respect for members of the public.
In response to an open records request for reports of Russell’s use of force or a weapon, the sheriff’s office provided two, neither of which involved Sheppard. An incident report of her encounter with Russell has been sealed.
In a Nov. 15, 2019 incident involving a 45-year-old woman who may have been the victim of a domestic violence incident, Russell and two other officers reported they had to use force to restrain the woman and put her in cuffs. She was being arrested for obstruction of an officer for refusing to give her name and date of birth.
In the second incident Feb. 4, 2021, Russell reported he had to use his stun gun on a suicidal 19-year-old man who wrapped himself around the porch railing because he didn’t want to be committed to a hospital.
Both of the use-of-force reports and body cam video were reviewed by higher-ranking officers who found the use of force employed appropriately.
Russell was also named in another federal lawsuit in 2020 that alleged excessive force. A use-of-force report of Larry Scott’s encounter with Russell on Dec. 23, 2019, was also not included in response to The Augusta Press’ open records request to the department.
In Scott’s lawsuit he alleged he was offering no violence or resistance when Russell wrapped his arm around Scott’s neck and slammed him to the ground, put his knee on his back and painfully twisted Scott’s arm.
Russell charged Scott with driving without a license and obstruction of an officer. The charges are still pending in Richmond County State Court.
In a Dec. 20, 2021 ruling, U.S. District Court Chief Judge J. Randal Hall granted the motion to dismiss the case against Russell. In his ruling, Hall found that Scott failed in his excessive force claim because Russell was justified in using limited force after Scott turned from the officer and walked toward his vehicle, ignoring repeated orders from Russell to put his hands behind his back.
Sandy Hodson is a staff reporter covering courts for The Augusta Press. Reach her at sandy@theaugustapress.com.
