Lowcountry man stopped by police ended up cuffed and bloodied. Now he's $750K richer. (2024)

BLUFFTON— Almost seven years have passed since Bluffton Police Officer Cody Kirkman flipped Ted Ellis face first onto the May River Road pavement, kneeling on the handcuffed man's back while blood leaked from his chin.

Since that humid Augustafternoon in 2017, Ellis pursued a lawsuit that slowly wound its way through the courts. Attorneys, allegations and defendants came and went as he pressed his claim, challenging the officer's actions during the traffic stop that day. But in March, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals dispatched Kirkman's final challenge. Ellis accepted a $750,000 settlement offer after his excessive force claim prevailed. The money was paid out by the agency overseeing the state insurance reserve fund, according to his attorney.

The Hilton HeadIsland Packet and Beaufort Gazette first reported on the incident and the lawsuit. The Post and Courier is first to report the settlement.Through his attorney, Ellis declined to comment on the story.

Kirkman fought wrongdoing appearances and allegations from the arrest to the appellate court, but evidence in the case challenges the officer's narrative.

A traffic stop turned violent

Bluffton Police became aware of Ellis when an automatedlicense plate reader flagged his car, indicating that his insurance was canceled and his plate suspended. Ellis, who is Black, was 37 at the time.

Kirkman pulled over Ellis and approached his car, shown in synchronized body and dash camera video provided to The Post and Courier. Ellis asked why Kirkman pulled him over.

"The plate is suspended for cancellation of insurance, I believe," Kirkman responded.

Kirkman collected basic information from Ellis, who told the officer he was on his way to pick up his wife. He expressed frustration, saying that the officer ran the plate randomly.

"It's not random, you went through a camera system that reads plates and we get hits on them," Kirkman said. "Hands on the vehicle for me."

In an incident report, Kirkman said Ellis became agitated at this point.

Kirkman walked back to his cruiser, communicating with dispatch to confirm the plate suspension. He returned to Ellis' car and asked for his insurance.

"I did not speed," Ellis said sharply, holding the phone in his hand as if he was communicating on speaker. "This man said he just ran the tags before he got that insurance."

"Hey, calm down," Kirkman said and asked for his insurance.

Ellis opened the glove compartment forcefully, pushing it to an angle. He closed the compartment.

In Kirkman's incident report, the officer said Ellis broke the glove compartment. His attorney weavedthis moment into an argument explaining why Ellis' actions made Kirkman especially concerned for his safety.

Kirkman returned to his car as Officer Amber Swinehamer arrived.

"He's going to jail," Kirkman said. Ellis' license was suspended for not paying traffic tickets.

Kirkman returned to Ellis, asking him to turn off his car and step out of the vehicle.

"Man, I'm about to go to jail for this (expletive), man," Ellis said. Kirkman instructed Ellis to face his car, with his back to the road. Ellis allowed Kirkman to handcuff him without resistance. At around this point, officer Lindsey Gibson arrived.

Standing next to Kirkman, Ellis towered over the officer. Their height difference became a component of Kirkman's defense. His attorney argued in multiple filings that Ellis was so much larger than Kirkman that it was difficult for the officer to control the handcuffed man.

His hands bound behind his back, Ellis bemoaned the arrest. At one point he turned to face Kirkman, who immediately pressed Ellis against his car, telling him to stop moving. Ellis complained. Kirkman walked him up the road and pressed him against the police cruiser. Searching the pockets of Ellis' gym shorts, the officer tried to keep the man in handcuffs quiet. Kirkman ordered Ellis to back away from the car. Ellis complied, fidgeting.

Kirkman pressed Ellis forward, warning him he would be put on the ground if he didn't stop moving.

"What you gonna do? I've got handcuffs on," Ellis responded. "Open the door," referring to the police cruiser.

At this point, the two were speaking over each other— Ellis telling Kirkman to open the door, Kirkman telling Ellis to stop moving. Ellis maintained he didn't have anything on him, telling Kirkman to open the car door. Kirkman remained firm. In the incident report, Kirkman said Ellis' resistance led him to believe he may have had a concealed firearm or contraband. Kirkman's attorneys argued that Ellis could pose a danger without a thorough search.A magistrate who reviewedthe case found that argument unconvincing.

The two continued bickering until, mid-sentence, Kirkman leaned down, grabbed the handcuffed Ellis below the knee, and pulled his legs out from under him. Nothing broke Ellis' fall. His face hit the pavement. Kirkman said in the incident report he reached around Ellis' waist to control his center of gravity, a claim refuted by video, reports from both of the other officers at the scene, and, eventually, his own deposition.

Kirkman knelt on Ellis' back. Ellis was shocked, "Oh, no," he repeated before the shock resided. He threatened that he would "find" Kirkman.

On top of the man prone on the pavement, Kirkman yelled at Ellis to "stop moving." In the reflection of the car's sheen, Kirkman's hand appeared on top of his leg, pressed onto Ellis' back, his black wedding ring stark against Ellis' white tank top and the officer's pale skin. Ellis' blood dribbled from his chin under the car toward the side of the road. Gibson held Ellis' feet.

Kirkman knelt on Ellis' back for almost nine minutes, a detail omitted in his incident report description.

At one point, Kirkman dismounted and Ellis requested he return. During other moments, Ellis asked to be helped off the ground, with Kirkman remaining on top.

Eventually, officers helped Ellis sit up.

"Officer, you had no business doing that," Ellis said.

Kirkman stammered. What ensued was a brief argument that mirrored litigation each side's attorneys would make in the simplest terms.

Ellis repeated his position: Kirkman was in the wrong.

"You didn't do what I told you to do," Kirkman said. The men were yelling.

"I can run my mouth. I can run my mouth. I can run my mouth," Ellis said, while Kirkman responded that Ellis had done more than run his mouth.

"The camera can show you. I did nothing," Ellis said.

Like the moments before an instant replay reveal, both men argued that the camera footage would support their telling of the story.

"What it going to show you? I shoved you? How can I shove you with my back turned?" Ellis said.

Kirkman relented, saying he was done arguing. His main attorney did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Kirkman transported Ellis to Coastal Carolina Hospital. The significance of Ellis' injuries was a point of debate in the case. Ellis' attorneys included records indicating he had a fractured jaw, was diagnosed with post-concussive syndrome and lost a number of teeth, which they argued stemmed from the incident. Doctors called by Kirkman's attorney testifiedin depositions that many of the issues in the medical reports were actually old injuries.

In the waning moments of the video, a firefighter hosed Ellis' blood off the street.

Bluffton's excessive use of force report found that Kirkman used a "reasonable amount of force necessary to conduct a proper search of Ellis." It also said that the three officers at the scene "did not prevent Ted Ellis from hurting himself."

Kirkman was promoted in 2018. He ultimately resigned from the department in 2021. His LinkedIn page shows he works for a Beaufort-based tree care organization and owns a personal training company.Gibson resigned in October 2017. Swinehamer quit in March 2019.

Current Chief of Police Joseph Babkiewicz, who was working in the department at the time in emergency services, declined to say whether Kirkman acted appropriately.

A half decade of litigation and an eventual victory

Ellis sued the department and the three officers at the scene in federal court in August 2019. A little less than a year later, the defendants came to Ellis with an offer for $150,000.

"It's fair to say (Ellis) did not think that was adequate," Christopher Kenney, one of Ellis' attorneys, told The Post and Courier. He joined the case after the initial settlement offer.

Ellis declined.

The case was put on pause in October 2020 because of a parallel criminal investigation. Kirkman's actions were being analyzed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It resumed in June 2022 after the Department of Justice closed the investigation, according to a filing from his attorney. No charges have been filed against Kirkman. The Post and Courier submitted a records request to find the disposition of the investigation.

As the case evolved, Ellis' legal team requested the court drop some claims,and the court dismissed a claim itself, eventually only leaving the excessive force claim against Kirkman.

Kenney said the case was about "the proposition that a police officer cannot use potentially deadly force against a handcuffed suspect who is not attempting to fight or flee."

The officer's attorneyargued that Kirkman was in danger because Ellis was larger, moving around mid-search and making verbal threats. His lawyer argued that the position close to the road endangered Kirkman, Ellis, other officers and drivers. The attorney also asserted that Ellis posed a threat to the police and detention officers without a thorough search. These are some of the factors that his attorneys weighed in their argument against the excessive force claim.

Kirkman's lawyer also asserted that qualified immunity should protect him. Qualified immunity shields government officials from lawsuits unless they clearly violate a constitutional right. The doctrine has gained criticism in recent years, some saying it protects law enforcement officers who cross the line.

A federal magistratedisagreed, as did adistrict judge. Both noted that although Ellis verbally threatened, he did not act in a serious physically aggressive manner. The excessive force claim was allowed to stand, and the qualified immunity challenge failed.

Kirkman appealed the decision to the Fourth Circuit, again arguing for qualified immunity. The higher court dismissed the case. Kirkman asked the appellate court to review the legal arguments anew. The court again denied his request.

Kirkman's attorney offered a $750,000 settlement, which Ellis accepted.

Babkiewicz said the department trains officers to de-escalate scenarios. Police officers are also now required to intervene if one of their colleagues crosses the line, a change he said was informed by suggestions from a national accreditation agency, not a reaction to the incident with Ted Ellis.