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The family of a mentally disabled man who died when he was shot, handcuffed, then beat at least a dozen times by police has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of North Charleston.
A man who witnessed and photographed the incident said that a police officer beat the wounded Asberry Wylder with a baton after he had already been shot, subdued, laid on his stomach, and handcuffed.
Wylder's family seeks $10 million for his wrongful death. The suit further claims Wylder's civil rights were violated because they killed someone with known mental problems, and also claim the officers used excessive force because Wylder was black.
Witnesses Step Forward
The witness, Randall Blankenship, said the officer “decided it wasn't over yet” and hit Wylder between 12 and 15 times in the back of the head with a baton when he was already shot, subdued, and handcuffed.
“It looked like a carpenter trying to drive a nail,” said Blankenship. “Just a steady bam, bam, bam.”
Blankenship confirmed that the mentally disabled man was carrying a knife about the size of a steak knife. The police were saying ‘empty your hands, drop it on the ground,' said Blankenship.
Other witnesses testified that the North Charleston Police overreacted in their attempts to subdue the man, who they were attempting to arrest for stealing a deli ham from a Piggly Wiggly supermarket.
“I saw a man lying in front of my mailbox being beaten,” said another witness, Patty Thomas, who worked in a nearby office.
The police contend that Wylder had a knife and would not respond to their requests to disarm.
He did not threaten the police from the ground, Thomas said.
“How can a dead man come after a cop?” she said.
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