Investigation into arrest of blind man concluded Monday.
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Sheriff Mark Hunter speaks Tuesday on the suspensions of Deputy Jayme Gohde and Sgt. Randy Harrison following the Oct. 31 arrest of James Hodges. (COURTESY)
Two Columbia County sheriff’s deputies have been sidelined.
Sheriff Mark Hunter announced Tuesday evening that Deputy Jayme Gohde and Sgt. Randy Harrison were both suspended following an administrative investigation into the Oct. 31 arrest of a legally blind man.
In Hunter’s statement, he said the investigation — which began Thursday when James Hodges, the man arrested, requested the body camera footage of the incident — concluded Monday afternoon.
The investigation revealed that both Gohde and Harrison had violated department policy. Gohde was suspended two days without pay, while Harrison was demoted immediately, suspended seven days without pay and is not eligible for favorable action for two years.
Both Gohde and Harrison must undergo remedial training on civil rights.
“As sheriff, I take full responsibility for this event,” Hunter said. “I want to extend my sincere apologies to Mr. Hodges for the actions of my deputies. I do not feel these deputies’ actions were guided by ill intent, but rather by frustration and a failure to rely on their training.
“Nevertheless, this conduct is unacceptable.”
Charges against Hodges were also dropped Monday, according to Columbia County court records. John Durrett, the Third Judicial Circuit state attorney, declined to file information in the case, stating it did not warrant prosecution.
Hodges was stopped around 8 a.m. on Oct. 31 in downtown Lake City when Gohde believed he had a firearm in his back pocket. The weapon she believed she saw turned out to be a collapsible walking stick.
In the footage of the incident, Hodges asked the deputy if she was a tyrant.
“Yeah I am, actually,” Gohde responds before asking for his identification.
When Hodges refused to comply, the deputy told the man that “you don’t have to be a dick to me.”
“Well, you’re being one to me,” Hodges responds.
Hodges, in refusing to comply with the request for identification, said it was only necessary if he was committing a crime, about to commit a crime or had already committed a crime.
Once Harrison, Gohde’s supervisor, arrived, Hodges was handcuffed and officers found his ID in his front pocket.
Harrison, the video shows, instructed Gohde to arrest him for resisting.
Hunter, in his statement, thanked Hodges for requesting the video and bringing the violations to light as it allows the sheriff’s office to improve and get better.
“That’s how we learn,” Hunter said. “I can promise you that we’re going to work hard to get to 100%, but we’ll never be 100%, no one is.”