- Editor’s note: The Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office’s press release can be read in its entirety on the Cherokee Scout’s Facebook page.
Andrews – An internal affairs investigation concluded Friday that a sheriff’s deputy involved in a confrontation with a local resident attempted to defuse the situation after the suspect struggled with two other deputies.
Cherokee County sheriff’s Detective Tyler Faggard was accused of using excessive force by 56-year-old Danny Mayberry, who was reported missing about five hours prior to the altercation.
The investigation, which was conducted by Chief Deputy Joe Wood, found that two deputies “were in a vulnerable position fighting with an intoxicated and combative felon” when Faggard stepped in and attempted to strike Mayberry in his brachial plexus, a network of nerves in the neck. The strike missed its target and landed on Mayberry’s left cheek, officials say, “causing a laceration and his glasses to come off.”
“Nerve pressure points and strikes are part of the instruction taught in N.C. Basic Law Enforcement Training,” Sheriff Derrick Palmer said in a press release issued Friday. “Detective Faggard was lawfully upon the property investigating a possible death and a missing person.”
The confrontation was preceded by a five-hour search prompted by Mayberry’s wife, Katherine, who told police she received a text message from Danny around 8:45 p.m. Feb. 6 telling her to call emergency 911.
“I’ll be honest with you, he’s drinking and he wouldn’t want the law involved,” Katherine told dispatch. “But something has happened or he wouldn’t have text this.”
During the search, police received additional information from someone related to the Mayberrys, who said Katherine sent them a text message saying Danny had been in a wreck involving a fatality. This prompted police to employ additional resources to investigate the matter and find Danny.
Danny eventually called his wife during the early morning hours of Feb. 7 and told her he was near Mission Dam Road in Peachtree.
“I’m driving, barely; I about lost the damn truck twice,” Danny told Katherine, according to the release, which provided a synopsis of the internal affairs report. “Don’t worry; I can drive. I just got a lot of (expletive) going on.”
When Danny arrived at his Andrews home, Faggard pulled into the driveway almost simultaneously. What happened next depends on who’s telling the story.
Faggard told Wood that Danny poked him in the chest and told him to leave his property during questioning. Faggard then pushed Danny up against his wife’s truck and said, “If you ever (strong expletive) lay your hands on me again, I will take you straight to jail.”
Faggard said he then told Danny to go inside his house and wait for his wife to arrive so they can talk about the matter. A witness who spoke with the Cherokee Scout said Danny indeed went into his house after the confrontation, and Faggard got back into his patrol car.
However, Danny told the Scout that Faggard picked him up and choked him during that initial confrontation, releasing his grip only after Danny pleaded for air. Danny said when he told Faggard he was going back inside his house, Faggard grabbed him and punched him as he turned away.
Danny said he blacked out after being punched, waking up in handcuffs with paramedics standing over him. He said no other officers were involved in the confrontation, and “all of this was done by one officer.”
Danny also never mentioned threatening to release his dog on police after walking inside his house following the initial confrontation with Faggard. The release says Danny admitted he did so when questioned by Wood, and he apologized for it. Danny also told police he drank about 35 12-ounce beers that night.
“I did let the dog out on him, I shouldn’t have done that,” Danny allegedly said. “But I did put it back up. There’s 10 or 12 things that could have happened that night, it just went south.”
After Danny put away his dog, he returned to the porch and cursed at Faggard, according to the release, which says he told the detective to take off his gun and badge so they could fight.
Two other deputies who were on scene at the time corroborated that account and said they physically restrained Mayberry as he walked toward Faggard. A struggle then ensued between Danny and the other deputies.
“Detective Faggard was not involved in the initial struggle and was near the rear of his vehicle,” officials said in the release. “As the two deputies struggled with Mayberry, Detective Faggard came to assist and attempted to strike Danny in the brachial plexus.”
Danny told the Scout he suffered facial fractures, a broken nose and fractured ribs as a result of a confrontation with Faggard. The Scout was unable to confirm those injuries due to the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act. However, a photo shared by the Mayberrys shows Danny indeed suffered a laceration to his left eye.
As a result of the investigation, Wood recommended that no disciplinary action be taken against Faggard because he did not violate any internal policies nor North Carolina laws. However, the State Bureau of Investigation is working to determine whether criminal charges should be filed against Faggard.
“They have to run a separate investigation; they can’t just use the internal investigation,” Palmer said. “They have to run a separate one to clear him on criminal charges.”
In the meantime, Mayberry has been charged with resisting, obstructing and delaying the duties of an officer. Palmer said additional charges may be filed against Mayberry once the SBI probe is complete.
“We don’t want to charge someone in the middle of an officer being investigated because it could appear as if we’re trying to retaliate against him,” Palmer said. “It’s better just to wait until it’s all over. We can make additional charges later, if needed.”