On May 25, 2024, Thomas J. Simmons, a 44-year-old Native American man from Pitt County, suffered an epileptic seizure while driving in Greenville. His car sideswiped another vehicle and crashed into a utility pole. Witnesses told responding officer Sgt. Ashley B. Smith of the North Carolina Highway Patrol that Simmons was having a seizure—something Sgt. Smith himself acknowledged on dashcam footage.
Instead of providing medical aid, Sgt. Smith punched Simmons in the face, dragged him across gravel and concrete by the ankle, and handcuffed him while he lay dazed and bleeding. At the hospital, Sgt. Smith falsely accused Simmons of being on meth and charged him with Assault on a Government Official and Resisting an Officer.
These false charges forced Simmons into nearly a year of repeated court appearances. Prosecutors even offered to dismiss the charges—but only if Simmons waived his right to sue the trooper. When Simmons refused and hired Emancipate NC attorney Dillon Sharpe, the charges were finally dismissed.
“This case should have been dismissed on first appearance,” said Sharpe.
“Instead of helping him, Sgt. Smith punched him in the face, purportedly to ‘render aid,’” added Ian Mance, Senior Counsel at Emancipate NC. “Mr. Simmons posed no threat. This was cruel, discriminatory, and unjustifiable.”
Attorney Jaelyn Miller emphasized: “Our client was treated like a criminal for suffering a seizure. This lawsuit is about justice and accountability.”
On September 23, 2025, Emancipate NC attorneys filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. The case seeks damages for:
- Excessive force
- Malicious prosecution
- Disability discrimination
- Battery