Forsyth County detention officer received merit-based raise after inmate’s death

A deputy charged in a Greensboro man’s death received a merit-based raise based on an evaluation that came one month after the man died, according to county documents.

Sarah E. Poole, 36, received an “above standard” evaluation dated Jan. 11 that came with a raise of 61 cents per hour. That increased her hourly wage to $19.42.

That was 38 days after John Neville, 56, died from injuries sustained from being placed in prone restraint for 14 minutes at the Forsyth County Jail, and 40 days after the State Bureau of Investigation opened an investigation into the incident at the jail.

Prone restraint is a controversial position in law enforcement because it has led to the suffocation and death of many people. In this type of restraint Neville’s hands were cuffed behind his back and his ankles were raised to his wrists.

Poole is one of five deputies, along with Lavette Williams, 47; Edward Roussel, 50; Christopher Stamper, 42; and Antonio Woodley, 26, charged with involuntary manslaughter in Neville’s death. Also charged is Michelle Heughins, a nurse for Wellpath who provides medical assistance to the jail.

An autopsy report says that Heughins and the deputies responded to Neville’s jail cell after his cell mate alerted them that Neville had fallen from a top bunk and might be having seizures.

Heughins was able to wake Neville but he was confused. Despite that, he followed commands to walk to another jail cell and to kneel on the floor where they lowered him into prone restraint.

The autopsy report said Neville told deputies he couldn’t breathe and cried out for his mother.

After 3 minutes he stopped talking.

After 4 he stopped moving.

At 14 minutes he was released from prone restraint.

At that point Heughins and the deputies left Neville locked in the cell alone and the nurse informed the deputies she didn’t think he was breathing anymore.

It would be another 5 minutes before they started CPR to get Neville’s pulse back.

He would die two days later at an area hospital where deputies left him.

SBI investigation

Forsyth County sheriff’s office officials have said that none of the jailers were reprimanded after Neville’s death.

The death did prompt a SBI investigation that ultimately, on July 8, led Forsyth County District Attorney Jim O’Neill to press charges against the deputies and nurse.

The News & Observer on June 17 requested records showing changes in position or pay for all deputies, including detention officers, since Nov. 1.

The Forsyth County Human Resources Department provided the records Monday. They show Poole was the only one of the deputies charged who received a merit increase since November.

Human Resources Director Shannon Hutchins said that Poole’s “performance appraisal was processed in the HR system” on Feb. 21, and her raise was made retroactive to “her performance appraisal date of Jan. 11, 2020.”

The sheriff’s office has not answered questions posed Thursday about how often reviews take place and why Poole received one following Neville’s death.

The News & Observer wasn’t able to reach Poole by phone or identify an attorney representing her in the case.

Hutchins said that Forsyth County employees are rated individually based on attendance, relationships with coworkers, job knowledge and skills, customer service, workplace responsibility and additional expectations.

Any employee who meets expectations, or in Poole’s case exceeds expectations, is eligible for a merit increase, Hutchins said.

She was one of 29 deputies who received “above standard” reviews on Jan. 11.

Roussel and Williams both received lateral transfers on Jan. 11. All five were fired from their jobs on July 7, one day before they were charged, according to documents provided to The News & Observer.

The sheriff’s office did not publicly address Neville’s death until O’Neill held a news conference charging the deputies.

In March, an assistant county attorney told the N&O that Neville died out of custody.

That’s true, but only on a technicality.

Neville died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. Guilford County Chief Assistant District Attorney Steve Cole said Forsyth County asked an assistant district attorney to have Neville’s bail dropped because he was in the hospital.

Neville was wanted in Guilford County for assault on a female, a charge taken out not by law enforcement but by the victim herself, court records said.

When a judge agreed to lower his bail to unsecured, deputies were able to leave Neville at the hospital unattended, essentially walking away from the situation. That also allowed the sheriff’s office to claim his death as out-of-custody.

Cole said Guilford County was not made aware of Neville’s death.

Since the charges were filed, protesters in downtown Winston-Salem have demanded the release of videos of Neville’s death and answers to a series of questions about the death and its connection to Senate Bill 168, a piece of state legislation that would have prevented the release of some death investigation records if it had become law.

The protest organizers said in a news release Thursday that they plan to “Occupy WS” until they get answers.

The News & Observer has petitioned a judge for the release of the videos and a hearing is scheduled for July 29.

This story was originally published July 17, 2020 at 8:00 AM with the headline "Forsyth County detention officer received merit-based raise after inmate’s death."