Mr. Houle had been employed by the sheriff’s office since 2016, and Ms. Fickett joined the office in 2011, Sheriff Graziano said.
Mr. Sutherland had been taken to a mental health facility, Palmetto Lowcountry Behavioral Health, but was arrested there on Jan. 4, the day before he died, after a fight broke out. Workers at the mental health center told responding officers that Mr. Sutherland had assaulted a staff member. He and another patient were arrested on the charge of third-degree assault and battery, according to The Post and Courier of Charleston.
Video of Mr. Sutherland on the day of his arrest showed him in distress, screaming “Let go of me” at officers and speaking of conspiracies, including references to the Illuminati, groups — real and fictitious — dating back centuries and said to have special knowledge.
The deadly encounter began when the deputies tried to extract Mr. Sutherland from a cell at the Sheriff Al Cannon Detention Center, the county jail, to take him to court for a bond hearing on Jan. 5.
The deputies released pepper spray in Mr. Sutherland’s cell twice, according to video, in which Mr. Houle later said that Mr. Sutherland had been hit with the Taser six to eight times. The video showed Mr. Sutherland writhing on the ground before he eventually lost consciousness.
A pathologist ruled the manner of Mr. Sutherland’s death as “undetermined,” stating that he died “as a result of excited state with pharmacotherapeutic effect during subdual process.” Officials declined to discuss the autopsy results further and said that the autopsy report was not a public document and would not be released.