The Barbour County Sheriff’s Department was unable to provide evidence at a previous hearing, held June 26, 2009, because the plaintiffs’ attorney, Bruce Boynton, did not serve the Sheriff’s Department notice of the lawsuit until late afternoon the day prior to the hearing. In sum, Mr. Boynton filed his lawsuit requesting a preliminary injunction, received a hearing date, avoided properly notifying anyone at the Barbour County Sheriff’s office about the hearing, and then called the news media to attend the hearing. Despite the fact that a no-notice protective order was obtained by Mr. Boynton on June 18, 2009, none of the Defendants were served until late on the afternoon of June 25, 2009. Thus, the inability of the Barbour County Sheriff’s Department to present evidence at the hearing on June 26, 2009 was due solely to lack of notice and should not be taken as a sign of any impropriety by Sheriff Upshaw or any Barbour County deputies.

On the night in question, Barbour County Chief Benefield and two other Barbour County deputies responded to a potential domestic dispute involving Charles McCloud and Tera Benefield at the request of Tera’s seventeen year-old son. Upon entering the home with the consent of Tera’s son, who has also been named as a defendant in the lawsuit, Chief Benefield and the deputies took only the time necessary to determine that no one was harmed. Although McCloud alleges that he was beaten inside the house for about thirty minutes, a dashboard video shows that the deputies were in the house for only four minutes, and that within six minutes, both McCloud and Tera walked out of the house uninjured and drove away of their own free will. Approximately, four hours later, the Eufaula Police stopped McCloud on an unrelated call for trespass by a concerned citizen. Video from the stop also shows that McCloud was uninjured, although he is seen walking away with a limp after he is informed that a video camera was running. Prior to that time, McCloud is seen walking normally.

Chief Deputy Ronnie Benefield has been maligned by the false allegations of racism. Chief Benefield works in law enforcement but his true calling is serving as the pastor of a multi-ethnic church who welcomes people of all ethnicities. Chief Benefield has performed a multi-ethnic marriage ceremony. Tera’s son currently resides with Chief Benefield, in part because Tera has been restrained by the Court from communicating or coming into contact with her son. Chief Benefield is deeply concerned about the effect this lawsuit may have on his grandson. Chief Benefield is also concerned that his daughter, Tera, is involved with McCloud but not because he is African American. Rather, Chief Benefield’s concern stems from the fact that McCloud is a convicted felon with a history of violence, drug distribution, and theft. McCloud has served time in prison and is presently wanted in Houston County on three outstanding felony drug warrants. Although she has unjustly accused him, Chief Benefield is worried about the health and safety of Tera because McCloud has previously threatened to harm her.

Sheriff Leroy Upshaw was not at the scene when Chief Benefield and the other deputies responded to the call. Sheriff Upshaw, however, takes reports of misconduct by Barbour County deputies seriously, and he will thoroughly investigate all such claims. Prior to filing suit, Tera and McCloud spoke to Sheriff Upshaw by phone about the incident. Sheriff Upshaw asked them to file a written report but neither Tera nor McCloud did so. Nonetheless, Sheriff Upshaw has reviewed the evidence and has found no wrongdoing on the part of any of his deputies. Sheriff Upshaw and his deputies are looking forward to the hearing on July 6, 2009, where they will present facts that undisputedly contradict the malicious and false allegations against them.