American deputies of North Carolina criminally charged for choking, assaulting man during arrest

By Edward Era Barbacena

A Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office sergeant and a former deputy were both charged for assault Thursday connected to a violent arrest where one repeatedly punched, Tased, and grabbed a man by the throat. Following a months-long investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation, Rutherford County District Attorney Ted Bell charged Sergeant Alden (Joe) Sutton with simple assault, the sheriff’s office said. Former Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office deputy Tyler Thompson was charged with assault inflicting serious injury. He was fired by the sheriff’s office in 2022.

On May 28, deputies arrested Barry Spencer Green outside his home for driving while impaired, resisting arrest and assault on an officer, according to a release by the sheriff’s office.

Body camera footage released in August shows Thompson punching, choking, and using a Taser on Green while he is handcuffed. A female deputy is also present during this encounter. Sutton and Thompson were suspended last year pending an internal investigation into the use of force, The Charlotte Observer reported at the time.

The Sheriff’s Office declined to provide additional comments about the charges

In May, deputies confronted Green after a road rage incident on N.C. 73 in Iron Station, the Sheriff’s Office said in a previous news release. Body camera footage shows Green arriving home, exiting his vehicle, and speaking with officers. He attempts to go inside the house but officers stop him and say they need to speak with him about where he is coming from.