Opinion ID: 4556490
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Deputy Wedmore’s threatening comments

Text: Finally, we note the graphic, threatening nature of Deputy Wedmore’s comments to Goldson, which he made less than an hour before Goldson died. Towering over a prone, handcuffed individual and mocking him with statements such as, “What the fuck is wrong with No. 19-3468 Bard v. Brown Cty., Ohio et al. Page 28 you, you stupid motherfucker,” and “Hope you like prison, bitch,” would itself be cause for concern. But Wedmore went beyond verbal humiliation, stating, “[T]hat motherfucker is getting a welcome party when we get back to the jail” and “I’d like to break your fucking neck right now.” These comments occurred shortly after 2:20 a.m., R. 2 (Am. Compl. ¶ 3) (Page ID #28); R. 74-14 (Prosecutor’s Summary at 3) (Page ID #1406), and by 2:58 a.m., Goldson was dying— or had already died—from a broken neck or a related asphyxiating cause. True, Wedmore was not inside cell 15 with Goldson, but he stood just outside the cell as COs Schadle and Dunning engaged with Goldson outside the view of the security camera. For his part, Wedmore testified, “It was something I said. It wasn’t an action I took.” R. 75-6 (Wedmore Dep. at 77) (Page ID #2474). Yet particularly with respect to the broken-neck comment, this highly specific threat’s temporal proximity to Goldson’s death is simply too glaring to ignore at this juncture.