Audio By Carbonatix
Jethro DeVane is fighting back after police broke into his South Carolina home. The 71-year-old filed a lawsuit on Dec. 21 against the city of Rock Hill after a police bodycam of the harrowing incident was released.
On Jun. 3, 2019, DeVane claimed he was sleeping when he heard a commotion at his back door.
After getting up to see what was amiss, DeVane said he saw a contingent of Rock Hill police officers shining lights into his home.
He came to the door and “he alleges the officers pointed a gun at him, led him outside and began searching his home while he was cursed at and forced to stand exposed to the public,” ABC reports.
DeVane said at a Tuesday (Dec. 22) press conference, “That particular night, I woke up to a nightmare. [An officer] had his gun drawn, he said come out. I did what the man said. He’s got the weapon, I don’t. He could’ve took my life in a minute."
The Rock Hill Police Department explained their actions in a statement by saying the 71-year-old was "detained by officers for safety" and officers "conducted a protective sweep of the residence.”
They were allegedly searching for four suspects who broke into a car and for some reason they thought the juveniles had run into DeVane’s residence.
The complaint also states that the officers, “did not even know nor did they even ask for Plaintiff’s name until after he was forced out of his home at gunpoint completely naked while getting cursed at and held completely naked outside of his home at gunpoint while Officers searched his home.”
DeVane previously filed a complaint with the city, which was reportedly dismissed.
He is now asking for a public apology from Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys and additional officer training to be implemented.
Latest Stories
-
Hohoe United FC faces 3-season ban, demoted to Division 2
7 minutes -
Bank of Ghana in 2025: Financially impaired but operationally resilient
17 minutes -
Ghana 4x100m relay team finish fourth at World Athletics Relays 2026, miss final
24 minutes -
Beyond the UNFCCC COPS : A New Climate Coalition puts science at the heart of global action
24 minutes -
Parts of Ashanti to experience power outages; check out affected areas
34 minutes -
Ghana clinches key Pan-African Parliament role as Annoh-Dompreh takes health and labour chair
1 hour -
The clandestine network smuggling Starlink tech into Iran to beat internet blackout
1 hour -
Bank of Ghana Balances on a Knife Edge
1 hour -
Xenophobia and the African Condition: A Call for Sobriety
2 hours -
Ghana assistant coach Roger de Sa details how he got the job
2 hours -
Taiwan president visits Eswatini days after blaming China for cancelled trip
2 hours -
Regional ‘Fisheries Without Borders’ project launched to combat declining fish stocks
2 hours -
Man charged with murder and sexual assault of 5-year-old Australian girl
2 hours -
Germany says US troop withdrawal ‘foreseeable’ as Trump warns of more ‘cuts’
3 hours -
Eduwatch warns DACF formula is deepening rural education inequality
3 hours