Lawsuit: Former Bluffton officer says he was wrongly fired, imprisoned by own agency
A former Bluffton police sergeant is suing his former employer for false imprisonment and wrongful termination of employment, asking to be reinstated or given back pay, according to court documents filed Wednesday.
Brady Lee, who worked at the Bluffton Police Department for more than seven years, was arrested by his own agency while he was off duty in February 2019 and charged with public disorderly conduct after officers responded to a call about a “fight in progress” at the Station 300 bowling alley, according to the department’s initial report.
Weeks later, Lee “resigned in lieu of termination,” a routine separation form in his S.C. Criminal Justice Academy file says, and a judge dismissed the misdemeanor charge in June 2019.
He was hired by the Batesburg/Leesville Police Department in October 2019, his Justice Academy file says.
The suit names the Town of Bluffton, its police department and previous chief as defendants. Lee is also suing The Island Packet and Bluffton Sun for libel, according to the lawsuit.
Bluffton officials did not immediately respond Thursday when asked about the lawsuit.
The Island Packet’s executive editor, Brian Tolley, said the newspaper stands by its reporting.
The lawsuit says on the night of his arrest, Lee was “forcefully held, handcuffed and locked in the back seat of a Bluffton Police vehicle without being charged with any criminal offense for more than four hours.”
During that time, he was “forcibly restrained” and “not given any explanation for his detention,” the suit says, until he was “falsely charged with disorderly conduct” despite the arresting officer not witnessing Lee “commit any offense” or interview him.
The lawsuit says Lee “should be reinstated ... or paid backpay and costs.”
The lawsuit, which asks for a jury trial, seeks actual and punitive damages, as well as court and attorney fees.
Former Chief Chris Chapmond, one of the defendants, was leading the agency at the time of Lee’s arrest, but has since returned to his former Arkansas department as Hot Springs police chief. Current Bluffton Chief Stephenie Price was sworn in last week.
