A former custody officer at a state-partnered psychiatric facility in Columbia has been charged with assaulting a patient, according to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED).
Thomas Smalls, 27, of Columbia, was arrested Tuesday, Oct. 13, and charged with abuse of a vulnerable adult. He was booked into the Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center.
What investigators say happened
According to an arrest warrant, the incident happened on Aug. 4 at the Columbia Regional Care Center, a facility on Farrow Road run by Wellpath Recovery Solutions.
Investigators say Smalls took a patient into a seclusion room and slammed the person to the ground. The patient was taken to Prisma Health Richland and treated for a cut on the head about an inch long.
The warrant says surveillance cameras recorded the incident, and SLED agents reviewed the footage. Officials have not said what led up to it, and there is no update on the patient’s condition.
The patient has not been identified.
About the facility
The Columbia Regional Care Center works with the South Carolina Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. It provides psychiatric treatment for people involved in the criminal court system, including those found incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity.
Wellpath, a Nashville-based company that provides health care in jails, prisons and treatment facilities across the country, has run the center since 2009.
SLED said Smalls is a former employee but did not say whether he was fired or resigned. The facility asked SLED to investigate.
What’s next
Information about Smalls’ bond was not available, but he is no longer listed as an inmate at the jail. The 5th Circuit Solicitor’s Office will prosecute the case.
Smalls is presumed innocent unless and until he is proven guilty in court.
Reporting abuse
Anyone who suspects abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult in South Carolina can report it to the SC Department of Social Services at 1-888-CARE-4-US, or call 911 if someone is in immediate danger.
Sources: South Carolina Law Enforcement Division; arrest warrant, as reported by The State
