Woman sues Greenville County Sheriff's Office, claims deputies refused her insulin

A woman charged with assault and battery claims that deputies with the Greenville County Sheriff's Office refused to give her the insulin she needed after she was arrested for a crime she said she did not commit, according to court records.

Okemia Clowney made the claims and seeks actual, nominal and punitive damages and other relief through a lawsuit filed against the Sheriff's Office and the county on June 21.

Clowney declined to comment on her suit. Her attorneys, Joshua Hawkins and Helena Jedziniak, also declined to comment.

In an emailed statement to The Greenville News, a Sheriff's Office spokesperson said, "To protect the integrity of the proceedings and consistent with our stance, we will refrain from comment on any and all pending litigation."

The Greenville County Sheriff's Office has refused to release information that details the events leading up to Clowney's lawsuit.

The Greenville News filed a Freedom of Information Act for the incident report regarding this case with the Sheriff's Office, but in an emailed statement, the Sheriff's Office said it could provide only a the first page, containing a small portion of the report, for a fee.

The South Carolina Freedom of Information Act requires the disclosure of responsive information such as the incident report, according to South Carolina Press Association attorney Taylor Smith.

"If they only hand over the first page, the presumption is that there is no other record," Smith said.

What the lawsuit claims

According to the suit, on Sept. 2, 2019, the Sheriff’s Office responded to a women’s recovery house that was run by Clowney in reference to a call from Clowney about one of the residents expressing suicidal thoughts. Deputies spoke with Clowney and the resident and concluded that the resident did not express those thoughts before returning to their vehicles, according to the lawsuit.

Later, the resident called the Sheriff's Office and told them she had been assaulted, but she did not identify her assaulter, according to the suit. A deputy who spoke with Clowney earlier spoke to her again, and Clowney told him the resident attempted to attack her, according to the suit.

Clowney was ultimately charged with third-degree assault and battery. Clowney told deputies that she was defending herself, according to her lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleges that there were multiple residents and witnesses in the house at the time but deputies failed to speak with any before arresting Clowney.

Though Clowney informed deputies that she was diabetic and needed her insulin, she was transported to the Greenville County Detention Center without her insulin, according to the suit. 

While in a holding cell, Clowney began to feel unwell, according to the suit. She told detention center staff she was diabetic and that she needed to use the restroom, but employees refused to provide access to a toilet, according to the lawsuit.

She later lost consciousness, struck her head and injured her back, according to the suit. She was later transported to a hospital, according to the suit.

Once she was transported back to the detention center, she was denied access to medications and diabetic meals, and as a result of the food she was served, Clowney suffered elevated blood sugar, according to the suit.

She said she suffered mental pain, fright, nervousness, humiliation and embarrassment as well as physical trauma.

Tamia Boyd is a Michigan native who covers breaking news in Greenville. Email her at tboyd@gannett.com, and follow her on Twitter @tamiamb. Please subscribe to The Greenville News by visiting greenvillenews.com/subscribe.