A 12-person jury has awarded $350,000 in damages to a man who was involved in a verbal and physical altercation at the Sands Beach boat launch in Port Royal four years ago. He later claimed he was wrongly arrested and maliciously prosecuted by the town of Port Royal.
The jury verdict against the town and a police investigator, which the town says in court papers “shocks the consciousness,” followed a week-long trial in June.
The case was unusual because police initially closed the case without making any arrests on either side. The plaintiff, Paul Coffman Jr., pressed them to reopen it, feeling his role had been wrongly characterized by police. But police ended up arresting and charging him with 3rd-degree assault. He spent a night in jail.
It all stemmed from a July 6, 2019 altercation at the Sands Beach boat ramp between Coffman and Joshua Lee Smith. Each side gave different accounts of what transpired that day. What is known is that both men were trying to dock their boats when words were exchanged before things got physical.
In July 2021, Coffman, who said he was attacked by Smith, filed a lawsuit in Beaufort County Court of Common Pleas against the Town of Port Royal, police investigator Kimberly Carter, Police Chief Alan Beach, patrolman Peter Bunting, Capt. John Griffith, Major Ron Wekenmaan and Smith, the other boater.
All the defendants, except the Town of Port Royal and Carter, the investigator, were later dismissed from the case.
In the lawsuit , Coffman alleged investigator Carter’s superior officers ordered her to target him with trumped up charges because he complained about the handling of the incident and hired an attorney.
“Upon information and belief, Defendant Carter was instructed to arrest plaintiff for assault and battery 3rd degree by her superior officers at PRPD,” court records say. “Upon information and belief, plaintiff’s arrest was in retaliation for the letters and emails he sent regarding PRPD’s handling of the incident at Sands Beach Boat Landing.”
For its part, the town maintained that probable cause did exist to arrest Coffman, which invalidates his claim of malicious prosecution.
It’s also the stance of the town that the case was property handled and that that police officers are shielded from personal liability when they reasonably believe their conduct complied with the law.
The case was tried before a jury from June 17-21 before Judge Steven DeBerry. The jury awarded Coffman $350,000 in damages. The total included $250,000 in compensatory damages against the town and $100,00 in damages against Carter.
Coffman also is seeking $410,790 in attorneys fees .
On Monday, Carter and the Town of Port Royal requested that the judge set aside the jury verdict and enter a judgment in its favor, or call a new trial because the “verdict is so excessive that it shocks the conscience of the court and clearly indicates that the figured reached was the result of caprice, passion, prejudice, partiality, corruption, or other improper motives.”
“Considering the award of $350,000 for one night in jail, and that the plaintiff is advanced in years, the verdict was undoubtedly based on the sympathy, caprice, or passion,” the town argues in its motion.
Coffman and his wife Stephanie, and Aaron Abercrombie were returning from a short sunset cruise, court records show. When they pulled up in their boat, they were unable to dock for more than an hour because Joshua Smith, who was playing loud music and was allegedly intoxicated, was at the ramp. According to court documents he was reported to be having trouble docking his boat.
Smith’s wife, Brittany Smith, and friends Jessica Bradley and Hunter Lewis, were with Smith at the time.
While everybody was waiting for Smith to dock, Mrs. Smith and Bradley walked over to where Coffman was standing. Coffman said Smith identified herself as a law enforcement officer with the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. They spoke with each other and then Smith and Bradley walked away. Then, Coffman alleged, Joshua Smith charged down the ramp to where he was standing and threatened his life and threw him to the ground. Coffman suffered bruises to his shoulder, arm, and lacerations to his left shin and knee.
The account from the Smith party was different: They said Coffman allegedly told Mrs. Smith he “was close to kicking her husband’s ass” because of the loud music and he “was not too old to fight.” according to court documents.
They said Coffman went to his truck and put his dog in the cab and came back with a fish bat that he was concealing. When Mrs. Smith and Ms. Bradley asked Coffman what he intended to do with the fish bat, he allegedly became belligerent, court records say, and a confrontation with Smith ensued. Coffman, however, maintained that he was only planning to put the fish bat on his boat, where it belonged.
Bunting, the patrolman, arrived on the scene, and later reported that the fight appeared to be mutual.
Initially, Port Royal police closed the case due to both parties deciding not to press charges, court records say.
In the lawsuit, Coffman claimed police demonstrated gross negligence and arrested him without probable cause, violating his Fourth Amendment Rights to be free from unreasonable seizure. His arrest, he alleged, came only after he filed Freedom of Information Act requests seeking camera footage and complained to a local lawmaker as he pressed police to look into the case after no charges were filed initially.
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