COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
The former corrections officer accused of
beating an inmate last month appeared in court Monday.
Robin Smith, 37, of Columbia, was charged in late
February with assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature after he
allegedly beat 51-year-old Robert Sweeper, who was an inmate at Alvin S. Glenn
Detention Center at the time.
Richland County sheriff's deputies were called to
Palmetto Health Richland on Feb. 15 by hospital employees who said Sweeper was
brought to the hospital by jail personnel the same day, according to a
sheriff's office incident report.
Sweeper had a collapsed lung, two broken ribs on the
right side of his torso and a fracture to his vertebrae, the report said.
Smith was terminated from the detention center after
being employed there for two years. He appeared in court today with his
attorney for a roll call after being released on bond. He will reappear in
criminal court July 25.
Since Smith's arrest, six other detention center
employees have been suspended without pay for their involvement in the case,
pending an investigation. WIS filed a Freedom of Information request with Richland
County to get the names of those employees.
Sweeper was incarcerated on trespassing charges Feb. 7.
He was taken to Palmetto Health Richland following the incident and, as of
today, he is still recovering at the hospital.
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Arrested officer Robin Smith (Source: Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center)
