Macon man claims he suffered brain injury during arrest, sues Macon police

A Macon man has filed a lawsuit against three Macon police officers, Police Chief Mike Burns and Bibb County Sheriff Jerry Modena, claiming he suffered a permanent brain injury during his arrest and was later deprived of medical care at the county jail.

Jimmy Brewster, of Vineville Avenue, alleges he was sitting on his friends porch on Columbus Road at 1:20 a.m. on July 22, 2010, when police came into the yard, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in Bibb County Superior Court.

According to the lawsuit: Officer Clayton Sutton pointed a gun at Brewster and demanded that he come to him. Sutton threatened to shoot Brewster if he refused. Brewster told the officer hed done nothing wrong and walked toward the door to the house.

Brewster, 48, alleges that officer Lisa Sapp grabbed Brewster and kept him from going inside the house. While Sapp held Brewster, Sutton struck him between two and four times in the head with a flashlight, the lawsuit alleges.

Police took Brewster into custody and asked if he wanted to go to the hospital. Thinking he just had a bad headache, Brewster declined help, according to the lawsuit.

He was charged with misdemeanor obstruction, giving false information and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to Bibb County jail records.

But later at the jail, Brewsters pain became more intense, and he asked to see a doctor several times. Jail staff repeatedly and consistently denied him access to medical treatment until he collapsed in his jail cell Sept. 14, 2010, and was taken to The Medical Center of Central Georgia, according to the lawsuit.

Doctors determined Brewster had a moderate to large-sized subdural hematoma and he underwent surgery, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit also names Macon Mayor Robert Reichert, Macon City Council members and the city. In addition to Sapp and Sutton, the lawsuit names officer Charles Gibby.

Sapp and Gibby no longer are Macon police officers, said police spokeswoman Sgt. Melanie Hofmann. Police referred comment about the case to the city attorneys office.

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Macon man claims he suffered brain injury during arrest, sues Macon police