MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A woman is suing the City of Myrtle Beach and an unnamed police officer for using “excessive and deadly force” that resulted in the death of her “unborn child.”
Rashonda Deanna Frederick claims she suffered a miscarriage while in jail overnight on Nov. 15, 2018, after police threw her to the ground earlier that day during an armed robbery investigation. Her lawsuit says she was vacationing in Myrtle Beach and lives in Charlotte, NC.
Frederick was sleeping in her hotel room when she was awakened by a police officer’s commands to open the door, according to the suit. Upon opening the door, the suit continues, she was “violently thrown to the floor” by the officer and other officers of the Myrtle Beach police.
Frederick faces armed robbery and kidnapping charges from the same night, according to the Horry County Public Index.
According to arrest warrants from the Myrtle Beach Police Department, Frederick was wanted in connection to an armed robbery at the Smoke Life Smoke and Vape Shop on South Kings Highway. Police say that Fredrick’s car was identified as the car used in the armed robbery and that she had driven the car.
The suit says Frederick announced many times she was pregnant, did not use any threatening gestures toward police and did not pose an immediate threat to their safety. “The excessive and deadly force used by the Defendants was not reasonable, justified, nor was it necessary under the circumstances. “
Police knew she was pregnant, knew she needed emergency care, but failed to provide adequate care while she was in their custody, Frederick says.
When officers learned of her condition and that she was having pains, they took her to jail rather than to the hospital to be examined, the suit claims, and “once she began complaining of pain, failed to timely seek medical attention for her.”
The city also is being accused of failing to adequately train its officers on how to handle pregnant individuals.
Another plaintiff is named in the suit, Christian Cole, described as the “father of the miscarried fetus,” who realleges all claims of misconduct in that they contributed to causing the death of his “unborn child.”
Count on News13 for details and we work to gather more information.
