Civil rights lawsuit filed against officers, chief of North Augusta public safety

May 19—Allen Michael Johnson was arrested and charged with murder on Jan. 19, 2018. He sat in jail for nearly two years, despite allegations that within a few days of his arrest, officers had video evidence proving he did not commit the murder.

Johnson's attorneys filed a civil rights lawsuit Wednesday against the North Augusta Department of Public Safety, the City of North Augusta, Aiken County, North Augusta Public Safety Chief John Thomas and four North Augusta public safety officers.

The lawsuit claims that rather than take steps to get Johnson released from jail or drop the charges, officers continued to prosecute him and held him in jail on a charge they knew was false. In addition, attorneys claim officers listened in on a privileged conversation between Johnson and his lawyer while he was incarcerated.

Attorneys allege the case is part of a pattern of unconstitutional behavior by the department, stating North Augusta public safety officers have consistently ignored the state and national constitutions and "have violated the constitutional rights of many people," according to the lawsuit.

Johnson's attorney Andrew Radeker, said in a phone interview Thursday there are multiple reasons that a pattern is alleged, and he believes they will be able to prove those allegations after they conduct discovery in the case.

"Someone who would know told me that if your civil rights have been violated in the state of South Carolina, there's a very high probability that they're being violated by the City of North Augusta police department," Radeker said.

It remains unclear what factor race may have played in this incident. Reports indicate Johnson is Black, and all of the officers listed as defendants in the lawsuit are white.

Lt. Junior Johnson, public information officer for North Augusta public safety, stated the department will not comment on the lawsuit.

"We have consulted with our city attorney and will not be releasing any comments on pending litigation," Johnson said.

The shooting

Officers with the North Augusta Department of Public Safety responded to Ridgeview Manor Apartments on Bradleyville Road around 1 p.m. on Jan. 18, 2018 for reports of shots fired, according to a previous Aiken Standard article.

When officers arrived, they found the victim, later identified as 19-year-old DaQuan Bostic of Augusta, lying in the parking lot. Bostic was pronounced dead from apparent gunshot wounds, according to the article.

Investigators spoke with witnesses at the scene and determined the suspect fled on foot, the article states. The Aiken County Bloodhound Tracking Team was called to the scene to search for a suspect, but they were unable to locate anyone.

Johnson, who was 27 at the time, was arrested the next day and charged with murder, possession of a weapon during a violent crime and failure to stop for blue lights, according to jail records.

After being incarcerated for almost two years, South Carolina's Second Circuit Solicitor's Office dismissed the charges against Johnson and he was released from jail in September 2019.

Eugene White, president of the Aiken County branch of the NAACP, said even one day of false imprisonment is too long.

"There really is no winner in this situation," White said. "At this point, we have a 19-year-old who was murdered in the street, we have a young man who lost two years of his life, and we have the integrity of a department that's now under scrutiny."

Lawsuit allegations

Multiple misconduct allegations are mentioned in the lawsuit, including officers' violation of state and federal law, the violation of Johnson's right to be free from unreasonable seizure and violation of his right to counsel. The actions were committed with "malicious intent," and officers "conspired to violate [Johnson's] rights," according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also states "much of this behavior has been known to authority figures within or among the North Augusta defendants for several years" and officers had multiple opportunities to mitigate the pattern of behavior, but did not do so.

Only one of the officers listed as a defendant in the lawsuit is still employed by the North Augusta Department of Public Safety, according to employment records obtained from the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy. Three of the officers started their careers as corrections officers with public safety before they all received title changes at the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019.

—Christopher Toole started his career with North Augusta public safety as a Class 1 Law Enforcement Corrections Officer in 1998. His title was changed to Class 1 Law Enforcement Officer on Feb. 7, 2019. He retired from the department on March 3, 2020.

—George Shaw II started his career with North Augusta public safety as a Class 1 Law Enforcement Officer in 1990. He retired from the department on Jan. 11, 2019.

—Jonathan Nelson started his career with North Augusta public safety as an officer in 2002. His title changed to Class 1 Law Enforcement Corrections Officer in September 2003. His title changed to Class 1 Law Enforcement Officer on July 11, 2018. He resigned from North Augusta Department of Public Safety on Dec. 31, 2019, to work for the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), where he is currently employed.

—Luke Sherman started his career with North Augusta public safety as a Class 1 Law Enforcement Corrections Officer in 2003. His title was changed to a Class 1 Law Enforcement Officer on March 19, 2019. He is still currently employed by the department.

Thomas, chief of North Augusta's public safety department, is also being sued as part of the civil action and is accused of failing to properly train and supervise the officers involved.

The lawsuit alleges Johnson suffered embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress and was placed in confinement for no legal cause. Johnson's attorneys are seeking actual damages, punitive damages and the costs of legal proceedings.

"One of the things that I find greatly disturbing about this case is that law enforcement was apparently content to let a man they know didn't commit this murder, sit in jail and do nothing to try to apprehend the person who did commit the murder," Radeker said. "My client wants justice, and he'd like to do what he can to prevent this from happening again in the future."

White said it's difficult to move forward, but luckily, Johnson will have his day in court.

"The good part is that we have a criminal justice system that allows us to take a look at the systemic behavior, patterns and data of officers that were involved in the incident," he said. "Mr. Johnson will have his day in court, which often is quite a barrier for people who are under these circumstances because they can't afford a lawyer to to pursue legal action."

White said the department now has an opportunity to make its case in front of the court to defend its actions and Johnson has the opportunity to prove his case as well.

"Although he was held, there's an opportunity for him to receive compensation for the damages that he underwent," White said.

Police oversight

The North Augusta Department of Public Safety does not have a citizens review board, which provides oversight to police misconduct, according to White.

The Aiken County branch of the NAACP suggested adding citizens review boards in Aiken County and North Augusta following the 2020 deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery.

"One of the quick solutions that we felt was important to ensure there would be more accountability in the law enforcement process was the establishment of citizens review boards," White said. "Police work is very difficult, and the consequences of doing it is quite high in regards of how it shakes out — someone can lose their freedom, someone can lose their life, and there can be criminal and financial repercussions as a result of it."

White said introducing citizens review boards would increase accountability and instill public trust.

"Any opportunity that we can have to promote and build up public trust is an asset — not only to the citizens, but to law enforcement as well," he said. "Departments that have adopted citizens review boards that are trained and properly running, can't imagine doing business without that piece of accountability that's in place."