Prosecutors question use-of-force expert in suspended Marlboro County sheriff’s federal trial

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — Testimony resumed Monday in suspended Marlboro County Sheriff Charles Lemon’s federal excessive force trial, where prosecutors cross-examined a key defense witness.

Prosecutors rested their case against Lemon Thursday in U.S. District Court in Florence. He is on trial for allegedly instructing his former Deputy David Andrew Cook to use a Taser on prisoner Jarrel Johnson six times at the county’s detention center in May 2020. Authorities said he did so “without legal justification.”

Former Irmo police chief and Dorchester County Sheriff Ray Nash said while he’s not Taser certified or an expert on the device, he was part of creating a defensive tactics curriculum.

Nash has posted several training videos on YouTube, adopting techniques from the internationally recognized “Verbal Judo” system invented by George Thompson.

Prosecutors pointed to Thompson’s training, which concludes that a subject is more likely to fight back when threatened by law enforcement.

They also referred Marlboro County’s use-of-force guidelines, which say a Taser should never be used to threaten or punish a subject, replaying clips of Cook’s body camera footage of the incident.

One excerpt showed Lemon telling Cook to use his Taser on Johnson when he was already turning toward his cell.

Nash said Lemon had a “typical, delayed reaction time” and made the decision while Johnson was still on the ground.

Defense attorneys said earlier that they expect to put one more witness on the stand before resting their case.

Count on News13 for continuing coverage on-air and online.

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Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook , or Instagram , and read more of her work here .

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Adam Benson joined the News13 digital team in January 2024. He is a veteran South Carolina reporter with previous stops at the Greenwood Index-Journal, Post & Courier and The Sun News in Myrtle Beach. Adam is a Boston native and University of Utah graduate. Follow Adam on X, formerly Twitter, at @AdamNewshound12 . See more of his work here .

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