A federal lawsuit alleges a veteran highway state trooper punched a man having an epileptic seizure after the man hit another car and crashed into a utility pole. Then, the lawsuit says, the trooper charged the man with assault on a government official and resisting arrest.
The lawsuit also claims witnesses told the trooper that the man, Thomas Simmons, was having a seizure.
Attorneys Jaelyn Miller, Dillon Sharpe, and Ian Mance with civil-rights organization Emancipate NC filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Simmons, 44, was driving on state highway 33 in Greenville on May 25, 2024, when he began having an epileptic seizure, the lawsuit said. He lost control of his 2008 Mercury Sable and sideswiped another car before hopping a sidewalk and slamming into a concrete utility pole.
Trooper Sgt. Ashley B. Smith responded to the scene. The lawsuit said Smith smashed the passenger-side window with his baton and Simmons, still convulsing and incoherent, stepped out of the vehicle. Smith pressed Simmons against the back door. When Simmons pushed Smith’s hands away as Smith tried to grab him, Smith said, “I’m gonna hurt you,” the lawsuit alleges.
Then, Smith punched Simmons in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, and dragged him by his ankle across concrete and rocks before handcuffing him. Smith’s dash cameras, as well as body cameras worn by Greenville police officers who responded, captured the incident, per the lawsuit.
After Simmons was taken to the hospital, Smith charged him with assault on a government official, reckless driving, and resisting arrest. The lawsuit said that the other driver told the trooper that he thought Simmons was having a seizure. The lawsuit states that the trooper seemingly agreed but later said he believed Simmons was high on methamphetamines.
Simmons has a documented history of seizures, his lawyers write. He was forced to go on disability from his job with the N.C. Department of Adult Corrections and had previously stopped driving. But after consulting with his doctors last year, he felt confident to resume driving and began working as a part-time driver for WalMart.
Simmons spent 11 months in court addressing the criminal charges. Pitt County prosecutors offered a plea deal in exchange for waiving his right to sue, but he declined. (The lawsuit alleges that his first attorney withdrew from the case as a result; the lawsuit said it later turned out that the unidentified attorney knew the trooper personally.) On April 8, the charges were dismissed.
Smith has been with the highway patrol for 21 years and was promoted to sergeant in November 2023, according to records The Assembly obtained through a public-records request. He has an annual salary of $99,398. It is unclear whether there was an internal investigation into Smith’s actions in the Simmons case.
First Sgt. Christopher Knox, a spokesman for highway patrol, said he could not comment due to pending litigation. Smith did not return two messages seeking comment.
“Our client was treated like a criminal for suffering a seizure,” Miller said in a statement. “This lawsuit is about getting justice for him and demanding accountability.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said Simmons’ seizures were a result of his Crohn’s disease. His history of seizures is not connected to his Crohn’s disease.