GAFFNEY, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - A woman is suing an Upstate sheriff's office, claiming her son died after being left alone in the WRAP, a full-body restraint used by law enforcement, for nearly seven hours. FOX Carolina Investigates uncovered gaps in critical policies for using physical restraint devices across Upstate agencies.
Johnny Bollinger, 47, was arrested on Dec. 16, 2022, after the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of indecent exposure on Wilderness Trail in Blacksburg. What occurred during the last 8 hours of his life is under dispute.
According to a lawsuit filed by Bollinger's mother, he was placed in the WRAP restraint at the Cherokee County Detention Center around 5 a.m.
Bollinger was placed out of direct vision of the jail staff while in the WRAP, according to the lawsuit, and suffered "extreme anxiety, agitation, and stress leading to cardiac arrest."
He was found unresponsive at 11:28 a.m., and the lawsuit states he was checked by medical staff at 11:40 a.m.
The Cherokee County Coroner confirmed Bollinger died at 12:49 p.m. at Cherokee Medical Center. His death was ruled an accident due to methamphetamine toxicity complicating hypertensive cardiovascular disease.
An attorney for Bollinger's family released the following statement:
Bollinger's mother is suing Cherokee County, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and Southern Health Partners, which provides medical care to inmates at the jail, for wrongful death. The lawsuit says officials "failed to provide consistent safety checks" and "failed to consider and access his medical condition" while Bollinger was in the WRAP.
FOX Carolina asked for a copy of Bollinger's arrest warrant, but the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office said a warrant was not obtained before he died.
"We did not release the charging document as it was a blue ticket or summons to appear for the charge, unfortunately due to the death no warrant was obtained and served on the suspect," Sheriff Steve Mueller said.
Mueller said the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office does not comment on pending litigation. A response to the lawsuit filed in official court records confirms Bollinger was placed in the WRAP upon his arrival at the detention center, but denies the other allegations.
Cherokee County and Southern Health Partners did not respond to our request for comment.
FOX Carolina Investigates spoke to Charles Hammond, the President and CEO of Safe Restraints Inc., which makes the WRAP, about training and policies for the device. Safe Restraints Inc. is not involved in the lawsuit, but Hammond said having clear written policies is important.
Hammond said the WRAP, which was invented in the 1990s, was designed to stop conflicts between law enforcement and detainees quickly while preventing injuries. It does not utilize pain compliance like stun guns, pepper spray or batons.
"We're all people who deeply care about, not only helping law enforcement connections, but helping the community," Hammond said. "Because without this tool, they're going to encounter another tool that inflicts significant pain, in order to get them to stop."
The device is now used across five countries and in 49 U.S. states.
Hammond confirmed that seven sheriff's offices in South Carolina are current users of the WRAP. He said Safe Restraints Inc. provides free lifetime training for the device and can help agencies develop policies.
"Without a written policy, they're kind of guessing and that's not standard," Hammond said. "A policy absolutely should be in place for any piece of equipment you use, especially one that involves physical conflict and hands-on use."
A plan for medical checks on the detainee are a critical part of that policy.
"The fight may be stopped, they may be upright and breathing, but they may be fragile," Hammond said. "They may be intoxicated. They may have blood pressure or, elevated heart rate. And those need to be addressed. And so, the job's not done when the fight's over, the job's not done when we're making sure that they're breathing, the job is done when we have that care placed upon them to give us the best chance of having a positive outcome."
Hammond said the WRAP is designed with versatility in mind, so a detainee's legs can be unfastened while their upper-body remains restrained, or vice versa.
"Our goal is to make sure that we're giving these agencies, these facilities, equipment that's going to have, great benefit," Hammond said. "And part of that is having a policy that addresses the equipment and, what to do when somebody is restrained and cycle times of getting exercise."
FOX Carolina Investigates filed a Freedom of Information Act request for a copy of the restraint policy for detainees placed in the WRAP at the Cherokee County Detention Center. We also filed FOIA requests with all the sheriff's departments in the Upstate, confirming that Pickens County and Anderson County also have the WRAP.
The policies we saw were similar but not identical in terms of time limits for the WRAP or how frequently a wrapped detainee should receive exercise.
The Cherokee County Sheriff's Office policy says a shift supervisor must approve use of the WRAP, which is normally stored in the booking area of the jail.
The policy says subjects in the WRAP should be kept isolated from other inmates, but should be observed by officers every 15 minutes, and the check should be noted on an observation log.
FOX Carolina Investigates filed a records request for the observation log from Bollinger's arrest, which was denied.
"We hold the position that the observation records would be part of the medical providers' file and releasing it with pending litigation would be inappropriate and could result in a HIPAA violation," Sheriff Mueller said.
The policy says subjects should not be left in the WRAP for more than two hours, but the time limit can be extended under the supervision of a medical professional or shift supervisor. Subjects should not be left in the WRAP for more than six continuous hours, the policy states.
Range of motion exercises "must be performed regularly," the document states, but no specific intervals are provided.
In response to our initial FOIA request for policies on use of the WRAP, Anderson County Sheriff's Office said:
"The Anderson County Sheriff's Office Uniform Patrol Division utilizes the WRAP restraint device and does not have a specific General Order (policy) addressing the device."
After FOX Carolina Investigates started asking questions, a spokesperson for Anderson County Sheriff's Office confirmed they are working implement a policy for the device.
A spokesperson later clarified: "We have been in a testing period over the last year with the WRAP device. Command is still in the midst of writing policy."
FOX Carolina Investigates asked the spokesperson to clarify if detainees or inmates have been placed in the WRAP during the testing period. We did not receive a response.
The Pickens County Sheriff's Office uses the WRAP and provided FOX Carolina Investigates with a comprehensive restraint policy - but it does not specifically note it is for use with the WRAP device.
"I would like to note that although the attached policy does not specifically state 'WRAP Restraint Device' in the title or mention it in the policy itself, I have been assured by [a lieutenant] that this is the policy they follow when using the WRAP Restraint," a records management official said.
The policy is for the use of a restraint chair, which says it must be approved by a shift sergeant or higher authority. An inmate in the restraint chair must be observed at a minimum of once every 15 minutes, which must be documented.
The policy said the restraint chair is initially authorized for a maximum of two hours. Extension of this time must be approved by a sergeant or higher in consultation with a healthcare provider. Use of the WRAP beyond four hours requires written approval from a healthcare provider.
While an inmate is in the WRAP, the policy says range-of-motion exercises should be performed at least once every two hours and documented in the log. If there is a safety concern that causes these exercises to be preempted, it must be documented.
Pickens County's policy also says an inmate should be provided water via a straw at least once per hour.
Dr. Geniece Mondé, an assistant professor in sociology at Furman University, has studied interactions between communities and law enforcement extensively.
"Because this is billed as pain-free, there can be a temptation to view it as being not dangerous at all in any way," Mondé said. "And that's not the same thing."
Mondé said having clear policies for physical restraints doesn't just protect detainees - it protects law enforcement, too.
"One of the problems that we've seen time and time again, whether it's with a physical restraint or the use of violent force for that matter, is that communities of color, time and time again, are disproportionately going to be negatively impacted," she said. "having those policies not only helps the public, but it makes sure that law enforcement are able to say that they are applying whatever this technique is or mechanism equitably across the population."
Ultimately, Mondé said she believes using physical restraints should be a last resort for law enforcement.
"First and foremost, the best way to engage with the public is to use those verbal commands, methods that don't necessarily require that their physical person be restrained," she said. "If they have a firearm or some other type of weapon where they're posing a clear, immediate, imminent harm or danger to themself or to someone in their vicinity, then you know, using a method like the WRAP might be effective."