Law&Crime Sidebar - Sheriff's Wife Claims Man Groped Her, Leading to Unlawful Arrest: Lawsuit

Episode Date: May 3, 2024

Stephen Tinsley, the elected sheriff of Clinch County, Georgia and his wife, Deputy April Tinsley, were stopped at a gas station hours away from their jurisdiction when Deputy Tinsley told her husband a man inside the store groped her buttocks. Sheriff Tinsley arrested Darius Rice and handed him over to local deputies. Deputy Tinsley was accused of snatching Rice’s girlfriend’s phone away from her when she tried to record, but no charges were ever filed. Law&Crime’s Jesse Weber has video of part of the confrontation and analyzes the lawsuit against the law enforcement couple.PLEASE SUPPORT THE SHOW: If you’re ever injured in an accident, you can check out Morgan & Morgan. You can submit a claim in 8 clicks or less without having to leave your couch. To start your claim, visit: https://www.forthepeople.com/LCSidebarHOST:Jesse Weber: https://twitter.com/jessecordweberLAW&CRIME SIDEBAR PRODUCTION:YouTube Management - Bobby SzokeVideo Editing - Michael DeiningerScript Writing & Producing - Savannah WilliamsonGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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keep you on the edge of your seat. Don't let your fears take hold of you as you dive into this addictive series. Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. Let him go. Let him go. No, they're going to break my arm, man. They're going to break my arm. A couple says they were minding their own business inside of a Georgia gas station when they say a sheriff from another county suddenly and violently arrested them. Well, now they filed a lawsuit against the sheriff and his wife. We have the video. We have details from the lawsuit. And we have what the sheriff has to say about it. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by law and crime. I'm Jesse Weber. It's not that strange to have a story about a sheriff arresting someone at a local business,

but when that sheriff is the leader of a different county's law enforcement, and it's claimed that the arrest was unprovoked, and we're dealing with a little bit of a unique situation. And that is what a Georgia couple is claiming happened to them in April of 2022, because now, two years later, almost to the day, they have filed a civil lawsuit against the sheriff and his wife, who just happens to be one of his deputies. Let me break this down for you. So here's the allegation from Darius Rice and his then-girlfriend Ashley Jackson. The two were at a gas station near where they lived in Henry County, Georgia, south of Atlanta. Rice says he inadvertently bumped into April Tinsley inside of the store, but Tinsley allegedly told her husband, Clinch County Sheriff Stephen Tinsley, that Rice groped her buttocks. Rice says the next thing he knew, Sheriff Tinsley had violently grabbed him and threw him against

a wall, and that led to a scuffle between April Tinsley and Jackson. we got our hands on video of the confrontation in the gas station parking lot, as well as the civil lawsuit that Rice and Jackson are filing. We're going to start with the video, which begins after that initial confrontation or encounter between Rice and Sheriff Tinsley. This is when Rice has already has handcuffs on him. So Jackson apparently saw something was up, started filming. Tinsley allegedly tried to arrest Jackson for allegedly touching the sheriff. Jackson says Tinsley took her phone away from her, put it inside the truck, and then someone else picks up their phone and starts recording so we have this other recording that picks up all the

action from there let's take a look are you talking about getting a cop you're not sick him like to know let him go no no they're going to break my arm ask them what's your name what's your name get my phone what is what is your bad say just stop what's your name what's your name Just stop. Get my phone. Just stop, please. I beg you, stop. They got my phone.

She put my phone. Okay, so Sheriff Tinsley and his wife are standing at the open passenger side door of a truck. Neither in full uniform, but Sheriff Tinsley does have a badge on his breast pocket and on his belt. He also has a gun on his hip. Ashley Jackson is holding onto one of the ends of the hand. cuffs while the sheriff tugs on the other his arms are pulled behind his back as the sheriff struggles to get control of the cuffs jackson is accusing april tinsley of taking her property i'm not i'm not bro you as you see what are you doing oh let her go let me get him get him

No, let her go. You don't even know me. You don't even know me. Don't touch me because you're in the wrong. And she in the wrong. The sheriff grabs onto Jackson and pulls her towards him, but she slips out of the jacket that he's holding. Now, when the camera pans,

we see that Henry County police have arrived on the scene, and they're trying to get a handle on what exactly is going on, just like everybody else is trying to figure out what's going on. We're going to figure out what's going on, right? Uh, yeah. Like what? They didn't even do nothing wrong. I saw, I don't, I did not see him lay his hands on anybody. Literally.

He's saying he assaulted him. He didn't do nothing. Literally. Literally. Literally. I got it. I got it. I cannot believe y'all really did that.

I cannot believe you and your lady actually did this to him. I cannot believe that. They're racist. That is very unacceptable. That's very unacceptable. unacceptable everybody saw it that's very unacceptable i cannot believe you and your lady did that rice is now handcuffed and the sheriff has put him in the henry county patrol car jackson also in handcuffs the witness who's recording as well as other people standing nearby say they didn't see

rice touch tinsley the lady in the car got her phone she snatched her phone out of her hands her right there acting like she's not doing nothing are y'all on duty are y'all on duty are y'all on duty are y'all on duty are y'all on duty talking about an assault nobody did nothing are y'all on duty though unbelievable unbelievable that's what I'm saying like this in my life shaking hands like all everything sweet It's okay. It's okay. I don't know.

I saw him. He threw him into the ground. It's not your jurisdiction. It's not your jurisdiction. Okay. I don't know what was happening. I didn't see him being belligerent. He just said you're under arrest.

Literally. He didn't talk to me. Then he threw him into the ground. You under arrest? It's not your county. It's not your county. This not your jurisdiction. It's okay.

No, just keep it rolling. Please keep it rolling. It's not even his jurisdiction. Please keep it rolling. Let me tell you some. Grab her on a, but really? Okay, that's how we're doing it. This is not even his jurisdiction.

Yes. And then that's when she tried to get it behind the car. I'm talking about, look, look, look, that man right there, she had her jacket on. That later right there is grabbing. I'm sorry. I'm talking about grabbing. Okay, so now let's get into some more of these alleged details from the civil lawsuit itself that Rice and Jackson filed in federal court earlier this month.

It reads, quote, on April 7, 2022 while inside a quick trip store, Darius Rice, a 37-year-old black man and a decorated combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps, made an unintentional and incidental contact with Clinch County Deputy April Tinsley after she backed away from the coffee counter inside the store. First I'll note, he's not denying that there was some sort of physical contact, but saying it was innocent. Mr. Rice immediately told Ms. Tinsley he was sorry for bumping into her. Subsequently, Miss Tinsley exited the store and immediately falsely accused Mr. Rice of groping

her buttocks to her husband, Sheriff Tinsley. In response to Ms. Tinsley's false accusation, Sheriff Tinsley exited his vehicle and without any investigation to Ms. Tinsley's allegations, Mr. Tinsley immediately attempted to arrest Mr. Rice, and without any justified reason to do so, Mr. Tinsley body slammed Mr. Rice into a concrete wall causing Mr. Rice to lose consciousness. At no time did Mr. Rice resist Mr. Tinsley's attempt to arrest him. Miss Ashley Jackson, Mr. Rice's girlfriend, approached Mr. Tinsley and his wife to ask what they were doing and began to record the incident.

In response to being recorded, Ms. Tinsley snatched Ms. Jackson's phone and threw it into the back of the vehicle they were transporting the inmate in. A physical altercation occurred between Ms. Tinsley and Ms. Jackson after Ms. Jackson, after Ms. attempted to retrieve her phone. Notably, upon law enforcement's arrival to the scene, Ms. Tinsley falsely accused Ms. Jackson of grabbing Mr. Tinsley. However, at least three witnesses informed law enforcement that Ms. Jackson never grabbed Mr. Tinsley and that once Ms. Jackson started recording the incident, Ms. Tinsley grabbed her phone through it in the truck and attempted to arrest her. At no time did Ms. Tinsley identify herself as a sheriff's deputy show a badge

or ID prior to attempting to arrest Ms. Jackson. So originally, it was Henry County Police that came out to the scene, but the lawsuit says that Sheriff Tinsley requested Henry County Sheriff Reginald Scandret to come out. Sheriff Scandred and several sheriff's deputies with his department. They soon arrive on the scene. An instant report states that Tinsley told a sergeant that Rice both cupped her buttocks and dragged his hand across it. The lawsuit says that law enforcement had a chance to look at the surveillance footage from inside the convenience store, quote, they concluded that it looks as if Mr. Rice accidentally bumped into Ms. Tinsley and even showed what looked like Mr. Rice apologizing.

So it seems that Deputy April Tinsley was at one point put into handcuffs as well because she allegedly took Jackson's phone away from her, which would qualify as theft by snatching. but she was released. No charges were filed reportedly at the instruction of a superior officer in the police department. But according to the lawsuit, Tinsley wanted charges pressed against Jackson, claiming that she assaulted a law enforcement officer during that scuffle. But the documents point out that, quote, video footage shows that she never identified herself, displayed a badge, or made any other action to show she was law enforcement. The lawsuit says the Henry County Sheriff's Office took over the investigation from police and charged Rice with sexual battery.

He was taken to jail. But despite the fact that Rice was apparently never actually prosecuted on that charge, this Marine Court veteran says he lost his job because he was charged with sexual battery. Now, according to their attorney, Rice and Jackson tried to have the Tinsley's arrested and charged with assault, but he says a magistrate judge in Henry County wouldn't issue arrest warrants for the Tinsley because they are law enforcement officers. What a lawsuit we're talking about, right? now. And speaking of which, we have a sponsor, an incredible partner called Morgan and Morgan,

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That's pound 529 on your phone. Now, something interesting included in this lawsuit is alleged evidence of what the plaintiff's attorney calls April Tinsley's propensity to lie. The finally reads, quote, attached a part of Ms. Tinsley's, known as April Warren then, personnel file where the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency deputy director Dennis Troughton says he had caught Special Agent April Warren in a lie involving her work with Special Agent Russ Moore in the drugs she had seized from R&M Cash Drugs in Ashburn, Georgia. Trouton wrote in his memo to then director of the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics Agency, Rick Allen, quote, I am greatly concerned that a GDNA agent would lie to you regarding

another agent and myself. The filing goes on to state, quote, on May 23rd, 2018, in a meeting with her bosses, Ms. Tinsley was accused of falsifying mileage sheets, and she couldn't explain why. She was also confronted about turning in reports months late. By the way, this would typically not come into a trial in and of its own. I imagine it would be a situation where if Tinsley were to take the stand, April Tinsley, she could be cross-examined with this kind of evidence to say that she, her credibility is at issue. But that's something for another point.

Now let's talk about the claims. Let's talk about what they're suing for, Rice and Jackson, what they're labeling, listing in this lawsuit. So first, they have excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment by Sheriff Tinsley in his official capacity as Sheriff of Clinch County. So this is pursuant to a federal law, 42 U.S.C. 1983. And what it means is that Sheriff Tinsley was acting under color of law, meaning if you are a state, local, or federal official, the government, acting under legal.

authority, he had a badge on, attempting to make arrest, he calls law enforcement, allegedly transporting an inmate. You can make the argument that he was acting under color of law, but then you say with this claim is that what he did was beyond his legal authority. So if you're acting under color of law, you can't illegally deprive someone of their rights, specifically their constitutional rights. So the statute allows somebody to sue over this. And here, the argument is that he violated Rice's Fourth Amendment by using excessive force to arrest him. The alleged body slam, Rice not resisting. You can say the alleged body slam, Rice not resisting.

You can see how he would argue that. Now, Tinsley, I imagine, could argue that he did what was necessary to control Rice that he had probable cause to believe a crime was committed. But you get the idea. There's also a claim for assault and battery by Sheriff Tinsley. There's another claim for unlawful seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment by April Tinsley. This is in connection with Rice's arrest. So the same idea as before, same statute, that Tinsley was acting in her capacity as deputy, color of law, violated Rice's rights through unlawfully seizing him through excessive force, willful indifference to his rights. I do wonder if Tinsley could argue she wasn't acting in her capacity as a member of law enforcement as a deputy, that she wasn't acting under color of law.

I think that's a stretch, even though she was in maybe playing clothes. If they're transporting an inmate, which is what the allegation is, and her involvement in the video, it all may suggest otherwise. So tough to say that she wasn't acting her capacity. But they move on that there's another claim for retaliatory arrest in violation of the First Amendment and unlawful seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment by April Tinsley. This is in connection with Jackson's phone being taken away from her. So same federal statute that I mentioned before, color of law,

But here, Ms. Jackson claims that she had a First Amendment right to protected speech by recording on her phone what was happening, namely the arrest of Rice, and that she was unlawfully seized. And that's true because recording police is actually legally protected speech and a court recently held that even live streaming police is protected speech. Then you have another claim for assault and battery by April Tinsley. You have interference with possession of chattel against April Tinsley. This is in connection with Tinsley taking the phone. This is a state law. Chattel means your personal property. It's a fancy word for personal property.

Well, fancy legal word for personal property here. That's her cell phone. You have intentional infliction of emotional distress. This can be a very broad claim. It can encompass a lot, extreme, outrageous conduct. So here it's against April Tinsley. And the idea is these are false accusations that she made against Rice, causing him mental anguish and distress.

Then you have a claim for defamation per se in connection with April Tinsley telling people at the scene that Rice had groped her buttocks. So let me explain this one. Defamation are false statements, and the key here is you don't need to say that April Tinsley knew that this was a lie, that she knew these were false statements, but basically that she acted with negligence, right? she reasonably should have known that this was a false state. And when we say defamation per se, per se means on its face, it's understandably so

harmful to someone's reputation. It's not like a statement needs some context to understand why it's defamatory, why it's false. Claiming that Rice engaged in criminal acts, namely sexual battery, if false on its face, you can see how damaging that would be to him. Now, could she say, hey, listen, I legitimately believed he groped me. I had a bona fide belief that he groped me. I didn't see him.

I didn't see the surveillance cameras yet. And maybe she didn't hear him apologize, or even if he did apologize, does that negate what he did? Two sides to every story. Defamation cases can be tricky, but it's interesting defense nonetheless. Okay. So the lawsuit says that Jackson and Rice are seeking compensatory damages of at least $10 million. This is what would make them whole again. And also punitive damages of at least $1 million.

So those are damages for extremely outrageous conduct meant to punish a defendant. So what do Sheriff Tinsley and his wife, April, have to say about all this? Well, Tinsley is running for sheriff again in the upcoming election and posted a long statement on the campaign's Facebook page saying in part, quote, With pending lawsuit against me and the one that has been threatened on social media, we are certain that the evidence will prove that there is a lot more. the story that is not being posted, and this is nothing more than a ploy by your local criminals to get their candidate elected. The plaintiff in the pending lawsuit shared the details of the case with Cindy Ruiz, who has been sitting on this information for months to release at election time. While she was dispersing information in an effort to defame me, popular word right now,

Ruiz chose not to share that she is currently in a relationship with Darius Rice, which is the individual I arrested in Henry County, and she has been involved with him for quite some. time. Alternatively, I am certain that Rice will choose not to disclose his other arrests or his history when he has his press conference or whatever he is planning. And although Ruiz and Rice may claim his timing is associated with the statute of limitations expiring on his criminal case, there is nothing that precludes anyone from filing a civil action while criminal charges are still pending. His timing is all under the direction of his girlfriend, Ruiz, who has her own self-indulgent motives and is not considered the predicament either of them

will face when questioned under oath. Nevertheless, we will welcome a civil trial in either case as it would allow us to introduce evidence that would not have been admissible in a criminal proceeding, and we will be able to depose witnesses under oath to explore the plethora of information we have obtained on all subjects involved. Most importantly, a civil trial in each situation will prove that we were simply doing our jobs, and I have faith that we will be vindicated. Either way, proper federal authorities who can investigate several issues associated with both cases, as well as other problems we are having in Clinch County have been notified. And whether I am re-elected or not, we cannot unring that bell.

Now, by the way, as we talk about Ms. Ruiz, this appears to be somebody just on social media that's making a lot of noise, that's been posting links to this lawsuit, has been talking a lot about Tinsley. So you could see how he's calling out both Rice and Ruiz here. Really interesting development in this case. That's sure what exactly happened, what's going on. but this lawsuit, as with other lawsuits, with Discovery, a lot more information comes forward. Maybe we'll get more answers, but interesting case, nonetheless.

And that is all we have for you here on Sidebar. Everybody, thank you so much for joining us. As always, please subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jesse Weber. I'll speak to you next time. You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.