No charges filed against deputies involved in Sings arrest

ROCKINGHAM — District Attorney Reece Saunders decided this week not to charge any of the sheriff’s deputies involved in Stephen Sings Sr.’s viral arrest at a Richmond Raider playoff game in December 2019 following an investigation by the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation.

The NCSBI concluded their report on the matter, which has not been made public, in August and presented it to Saunders who would ultimately determine whether or not to issue charges against the officers involved. Saunders, in the interest of thoroughness, waited until the trial of Sings’s son, Stephen Kernal Sings, had reached a verdict before deciding whether to charge any of the deputies involved.

The younger Sings was found not guilty of one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct on Friday, Oct. 30.

Anjanette Grube, a spokesperson for the NCSBI, confirmed Tuesday that the SBI’s investigation, which was requested by Sheriff James Clemmons in the days after the arrest, looked into the actions of six deputies to determine whether excessive force was used.

Saunders reached his decision Monday, Nov. 2. He declined to explain his reasoning behind his decision to not charge any of the deputies.

A clip of the original livestream can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzQMvhVrzf0.

William Harding, the attorney for Sings and his son, said that it is “very possible” that they will pursue a civil suit in the case. Its unclear, at this early stage, what the scope of that suit would be. Harding called Saunders’s decision “troubling but not surprising,” and noted that this decision by Saunders won’t be the final word on the matter.

“The evidence in this case is pretty compelling because you can just watch the video,” Harding said Thursday. “You don’t have to take my client’s word for it.”

Sings was initially charged with two felony counts of assault inflicting physical injury on a law enforcement officer, five misdemeanor counts of resisting a public officer, three misdemeanor counts of assault on a government official, and one misdemeanor count each of injury to personal property and disorderly conduct. He was placed under an initial $150,000 secure bond at the Richmond County Jail.

These charges were dismissed in September.

Sings was at Raider Stadium attending the Richmond Raider football game against Vance High School in December 2019 when his son was arrested after a verbal altercation with another individual. Sings then sought out the arresting officer for an explanation while livestreaming on Facebook. This confrontation and the resulting scuffle were all caught on the livestream which went viral.

The livestream showed Sings approach Lieutenant Damond Allen from behind and say, “Hey Officer Allen, now can you explain why you locked my son up? What did he do wrong? I want to know.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you,” responded Allen, adding, “This isn’t even open for discussion.”

Sings protests, saying, “This is your duty to talk to me,” at which point Allen hands another deputy his water bottle before reaching for Sings’ arms and ordering him to “put your hands around your back.”

The confrontation then escalated as Sings professed that he did nothing wrong, and at least four other officers wrestled him to the ground.

Allen was placed on administrative leave for two months after the incident and has since been on administrative duty, meaning working only in the office, according to Chief Deputy Mark Gulledge.

On Thursday, Sings maintained his message he’s had from the beginning: that the officers involved in his arrest should be fired for what he sees as a wrongful arrest. He also said that he and his team did not expect Saunders to issue charges against the deputies, but added that the issue “ain’t over.”

“Any time you see some police brutality there should be discipline (on the officers responsible),” Sings said. “The people of Richmond County should be more concerned about why nothing was done.”