Ex-deputy pleads guilty to assaulting female soldier at bar during attempted arrest

COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A former Richland County deputy has been given credit for time served after pleading guilty to third-degree assault charges stemming from a 2013 incident that turned violent when he decided to handcuff a Fort Jackson soldier at a Columbia area sports bar.

Paul Derrick appeared in court Wednesday to answer to the charge. As part of his sentence, he is not to have contact with the victim and not go to Buffalo Wild Wings. The judge gave him credit for the eight days in jail that he's already served with no additional incarceration. The charge carried a maximum sentence of 30 days in jail and a $1000 fine.

On Oct. 7, 2013 on the patio bar at Buffalo Wild Wings on Devine Street, Derrick, who was 49 at the time, approached 23-year-old Brittany Ball, a female soldier at Fort Jackson, in an apparent attempt to calm her down after she became emotional.

A Columbia Police Department incident report states Ball showed no interest in Derrick and the two started arguing.

Police say Derrick, who was not in uniform and was drinking alcohol, left the restaurant and returned with handcuffs, his gun and badge from his vehicle.

Derrick overpowered Ball, handcuffed her, pulled her to her feet, and slammed her head into a metal table, the report states. Ball, according to the report, was also drinking alcohol.

Cell phone video recorded by a bar patron details the events as they unfolded on the patio of the restaurant. When the video hit our airwaves and then the Internet, outrage spread all over the country.

When Columbia police eventually arrived, an officer looked at the video and that department took custody not of the handcuffed Ball, but Derrick, charging him with assault.

A week later, Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott fired Derrick, who formerly served as a Columbia firefighter and for the last 14 years before his firing, as a Richland County deputy.

Ball has since filed a Richland County civil suit which has now been moved into a federal court as a civil rights matter. In her complaint, she claims she was "tortured" by Derrick as he twisted, turned and pulled the handcuffs, injuring her so severely she is permanently disabled.

Ball further claims the video, seen tens of thousands of times, led to her "complete humiliation."

Ball also names Lott, his department, the county, and the restaurant chain in the suit.

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