Oconee jail at the center of suit alleging negligence

An Anderson attorney filed a lawsuit yesterday alleging a pre-trial detainee was savagely beaten by a fellow inmate in a non-violent unit of the Oconee Detention Center on a 2019 day when the jail population exceeded its rated capacity and there was a ratio of one staff member per 25 inmates.  The lawsuit filed by attorney Kyle White, for inmate David Allen Hembree, names as defendants the Oconee Sheriff’s Office and  Sheriff Crenshaw in his official capacity. It claims that between a period from 2016 to 2019 there were more than 100 physical assaults in the jail that averaged one a week, with most occurring in D Unit.  The lawsuit alleges that the inmate who attacked the plaintiff was a member of the Bloods, a street gang, and had been jailed a month earlier on the charge of attempted murder.  The suit seeks a jury trial and actual and consequential damages. This morning Sheriff Crenshaw said he was unaware of the lawsuit and had yet to be served with the papers.