Albany man injured during traffic stop plans lawsuit against multiple city agencies

ALBANY — A high-ranking city official has confirmed that Albany Police Department Officer Jamie Sutton, the recent focus of an Internal Affairs investigation after a violent traffic stop left a suspect injured, has requested a review of his case by Albany City Manager Sharon Subadan following a termination of employment recommendation by APD Chief Michael Persley on June 2.

“According to city policy, Sutton has five days after his termination recommendation to request a review,” the official told The Herald. “I can confirm that he has requested that review.”

Sutton came under the scrutiny of the department after conducting a “brake light violation” traffic stop on April 25. Witnesses posted video of the incident on Facebook.

In the video, Sutton can be seen grabbing driver Llewellyn Glover by the neck and throwing him to the ground. Glover reportedly sustained several injuries to his hand, head and leg during the confrontation.

Subadan neither confirmed nor denied Sutton’s review request and declined to answer any questions on the subject.

“I am not at liberty to discuss any pending employee actions,” the city manager said. “I cannot say whether Officer Sutton has or has not requested a review.”

Asked how long the process takes when a termination review is requested, Subadan answered, “It varies.”

Upon request, The Albany Herald obtained a copy of the Internal Affairs Investigation report from City Attorney Nathan Davis’ Office, which contains the original officer narrative, interviews with other officers who were at the scene, interviews with EMS personnel who were at the scene, and interviews with Glover and Sutton, as well as the results of the department-administered polygraph test issued to Sutton as part of the investigation.

Throughout the report, Sutton’s version of events is not consistent with available evidence presented, such as dash-cam video, witness video, testimony from fellow officer Lt. Mike Wood, who was on scene providing backup for Sutton, or testimony from EMS personnel who responded to the call, Internal Affairs investigators note.

According to Internal Investigation report #17-035, “In reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding the aforementioned allegations, Glover felt as though Officer Sutton profiled him on the traffic stop. The traffic stop was reviewed via dashcam video where Officer Sutton is observed slamming Glover to the ground. Although Officer Sutton provides a statement advising he ‘put him (Glover) on the ground’ because he stood them up, there could have been other takedown techniques that possibly could have curtailed the injuries Glover received.

“Furthermore, upon reviewing the video, Glover was not violent, but more in a passive-resistant state. According to footage, Glover is placed in a chokehold from the rear several times at the scene, which is a deadly force technique that should not have been used in this situation, according to Standard Operating Procedures. Lastly, Officer Sutton was given the opportunity in his interview to correct any falsified or misunderstood statements he provided in which he did not want to change. A polygraph was administered, which revealed deception.”

During the polygraph test, Sutton was asked a series of nine questions, according to polygraph examiner Kawaski Octavian Barnes, and three of those questions produced results that indicated deception.

Deception was indicated on question two (“Regarding the incident with Llewellyn Glover, do you plan to answer each question honestly?”), question four (“Did you smell marijuana in the vehicle Llewellyn Glover was operating?”) and question five (“Did you see marijuana in the mouth of Llewellyn Glover?”).

“Based upon the polygraph examination, the applicant failed because there was deception indicated,” Barnes wrote in the polygraph test results report. “Jamie Sutton had significant reactions to questions 2, 4, and 5. His response to question No. 7 was inconclusive.”

According to the report, question seven asked, “Did you see a brake light violation prior to your traffic stop on the vehicle of Llewellyn Glover?”

Glover’s attorney, Julius Collins, of Albany, said Glover plans to move forward with multiple lawsuits.

“There is going to be a host of defendants,” Collins said. “Mr. Glover is planning on moving forward with a lawsuit against the city, more than likely the county, Officer Sutton and any other entities that make up the ADDU, which may be the District Attorney’s Office, the Dougherty County Sheriff’s Office, the Albany Police Department and the Dougherty County Police Department. Basically, any persons that had any hand in possible training or direction that gave Officer Sutton that right to use that kind of force, because it has more than likely been ratified OK by the different agencies. We will be moving forward with legal action.

“As far as Officer Sutton’s appeal, he has that right, of course, and the final decision rests with the city manager. So we will just wait and see what her response is and what her final decision is.”