Hilton Head man says Beaufort Co. deputies used excessive force. Watch the body cam video
UPDATE: The charges against Mark Forman were dismissed by the 14th Circuit Solicitor’s Office on Jan. 4, 2022 as part of the adult multi-disciplinary program, which offers counseling and treatment in lieu of prison. He was approved by a circuit judge for his criminal records to be expunged afterwards, according to court documents.
Beaufort County Sheriff’s deputies have been cleared of wrongdoing in an April incident in which a Hilton Head Island man was punched in the head and tased in the back during a domestic violence arrest.
The incident began about 2 p.m. April 11 when deputies were called to Mark Forman’s Windmill Harbour home after his wife Claudia, 46, called dispatch to say he had injured her during a domestic dispute. She warned in the call that her husband kept a gun in his vehicle, according to 911 audio.
When Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Brian Kaase arrived, Forman, 50, refused to cooperate and threatened him, Kaase’s body camera footage shows.
“You put your hands on me, you’re dead,” said Forman, which prompted Kaase to draw and point his taser at him.
“Mark began challenging me verbally, raised his hands over his head, and stepped towards me quickly,” Kaase wrote in his report. “Believing an assault was imminent, I withdrew my Taser, ordered Mark to stop, and discharged it when he did not.”
Forman fell to his knees and tried to take the ends of the taser out of his chest.
“Get on the f****** ground. What did I tell you?” Kaase yelled, according to the video footage, as he tased him.
“Mark was grabbing at items on my vest and duty belt, attempting to knee me, and refusing to comply,” Kaase wrote in his report.
Forman then began to taunt Kaase while they wrestled.
“Yeah, you m*****f*****, yeah,” Forman said repeatedly. “What are you going to do?”
Three more deputies arrived and surrounded Forman in an attempt to subdue him.
Lance Cpl. Stephan Hunt tased Forman in the back, just below the neck, according to Hunt’s body camera footage. Another deputy kept his knee on Forman’s ribcage.
Police cuffed Forman and kept him face down on the ground until an ambulance arrived to take him to Hilton Head Hospital.
After his arrest Forman, filed a complaint with the Sheriff’s Office alleging “severe police brutality.”
He complained of heavy swelling on his head and broken ribs from the arrest.
A physician at Hilton Head Hospital found “multiple contusions” to his head, but results from an x-ray of his ribs came back “unremarkable,” the records show.
Last month, after more than two months of reviewing the complaint, the internal Office of Professional Responsibility found “no facts supporting the allegation,” according to a June 24 letter.
The incident was the second time Beaufort County sheriff deputies responded to a domestic violence call involving Forman. In November 2019, according to court records and interviews with Forman and his wife, Forman gave his wife a black eye. She called police, and he was charged with third-degree domestic violence. That charge is still pending in court.
Forman was required to turn over all of his firearms to police at that time, according to a bond document.
In an interview about his arrest in April, Forman admitted he had a gun, in violation of his bond order, but said it was locked away in a home safe. A gun was not listed in evidence secured by deputies after the arrest, according to reports.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office charged Forman with three misdemeanors in the April 11 incident: threatening a public official, third-degree domestic violence, and simple possession of marijuana, according to reports and court records. Additionally, he faces one felony charge for resisting arrest with a larger penalty because he fought back and injured Kaase.
Michael Hatfield, the chief deputy, wrote in the June letter that he supports the investigator’s findings that there were no policy violations by deputies involved.
“This complaint is classified as unfounded and we consider the matter closed.”
The Sheriff’s Office declined to provide police reports, body camera video or 911 and dispatch audio in response to Freedom of Information Act requests from The Island Packet. Officials cited exemptions in FOIA law, saying the release would “interfere” with police investigation and “deprive a person of a right to a fair trial.”
Reports, audio, and body camera video included in this article come from Forman’s defense attorney, James Bannon. Though police body camera video is exempt from the Freedom of Information law in South Carolina, people who are subjects of the video are allowed a copy.
To see the arrest video, go to islandpacket.com.
This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 4:45 AM.
