LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C. — A Lincoln County sheriff’s sergeant and former deputy have now been charged in connection with a controversial arrest last year.
According to the sheriff’s office, Barry Green was arrested on May 28, 2022 and charged with driving while impaired, resisting arrest, and assault on an officer.
Body camera video released in Aug. 2022 shows the moment that deputies used force on Green.
>> In the interest of transparency, Channel 9 has decided to link to the full video clips here. Viewer discretion is advised.
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded on May 28 to a road rage incident in the area of NC Highway 73 and Will Link Lane in Iron Station. The investigation then led deputies to Asbury Church Road where they found Green, who was allegedly involved in the road rage incident.
When two deputies went to arrest Green, the sheriff’s office said Deputy Tyler Thompson and Sgt. Aldon “Joe” Sutton used force against him.
In the body camera videos, Thompson can be seen at one point taking Green to the ground and punching him in the face. Then, when Green attempts to sit up, Thompson can be seen punching him again.
A short time later, Thompson can be seen pulling a taser out and directing Green to get on his stomach. After not doing so, Thompson stunned him.
At one point in the video, Sutton was seen speaking with Green’s grandfather before talking to the suspect in the back of a truck. Green then taunted Sutton to the point where Sutton grabbed him by his neck.
Authorities said after an investigation by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, the Rutherford County district attorney charged Sutton with simple assault. Former Deputy Thompson was charged with assault inflicting serious injury, the LCSO said, and was fired on Aug. 4, 2022. Sutton was suspended.
Both Sutton and Thompson were served on Thursday.
To Channel 9 last year, Thompson said he was wrong for punching Green. Channel 9′s Ken Lemon talked to Thompson when the video was released, and he told Lemon he pressed for an SBI investigation to help Green.
“Barry Green would not have justice if somebody didn’t speak up,” Thompson had said.
At the time, Thompson said he didn’t care if he was charged for this, as long as his then-supervisor Sgt. Sutton was also charged.
“[Thompson] had two separate occasions when we felt like he was exceeding authority,” Sheriff Bill Beam told Lemon on Thursday.
He said Sgt. Sutton has worked with the department for 10 years with no other issues. He said that’s why Sutton is still on the job, despite the fact that the Rutherford County DA decided both men should be charged.
“I am surprised at the charge on him, as a simple assault which is basically unwanted touching,” Beam said.
Neither of them faces jail time, but Sutton could lose his law enforcement certification if he is found guilty. The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Education and Training Standards Commission will review the case and determine what happens to Sutton’s certification.
Meanwhile, Barry Green still faces charges. According to warrants, his blood alcohol level was 0.23, almost three times the legal limit.
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