Mother of man who died in custody of Fletcher police files lawsuit, seeking trial by jury
by Dean HensleyWed, June 12th 2024 at 12:18 PM
Updated Wed, June 12th 2024 at 12:43 PM

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A federal lawsuit filed June 10, 2024, by the mother of the late Christopher Hensley claims Henderson County deputies and Fletcher Police officers weren’t properly trained in the use of restraint, and as a result, Hensley died due to excessive force at the time of his arrest on June 15, 2022.

Christopher Hensley died in June 2022 while in the custody of Fletcher Police Department in what was investigated as an excessive use of force incident. However, on Aug. 30, 2023, Henderson County District Attorney Andrew Murray announced in a letter to the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation that he had determined the officers who restrained Hensley during his arrest were "not criminally liable" for his death.

The attorneys of Hensley's mother, Catherine Hensley, filed the federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Asheville. Catherine Hensley's attorneys, Kristen Beightol and Catharine Edwards of the firm Edwards Beightol in Raleigh, filed the suit on her behalf. It is seeking punitive damages and a trial by jury.

Edwards told News 13 on June 12 that they have not determined the exact amount of punitive damages but feel “they are appropriate in this case.”

“I will also say that the facts here speak for themselves,” she said. “There is no excuse, in 2022, for law enforcement to have restrained Christopher, who was in double handcuffs behind his back, in the prone position and pressed him into the ground for several minutes. There is no excuse for failing to monitor a subject who is restrained in this very dangerous manner. We plan to hold these officers and their law enforcement agencies accountable for failing Christopher, for killing him.”
Fletcher Police Chief Dan Terry told News 13 on June 12 that his office has yet to be served the lawsuit but will comply once served.

“It certainly appears it is on the way. Lawsuits such as this frequently accompany these unfortunate incidents,” Terry said. “Once officially received, we will appropriately follow and adhere to the judicial process. We, being the police department, will not be making any additional statements related to the case.”

The lawsuit says Hensley, 35, a father of two, was “tased, kicked, punched and ultimately killed on June 15, 2022, by defendants Teets, Elizondo, Summey, Ritter, Martin, Garren and Warren when he was suffocated for at least four minutes while in police custody.”

According to past WLOS reporting, officers responded to the Seasons at Cane Creek apartment homes in Fletcher just before 8:30 p.m. June 15, 2022, after a 911 caller identified as Hensley's wife told dispatchers that her husband wouldn't leave her alone and claimed Hensley was "on something." When officers arrived, a struggle ensued, some of which was captured on video.

Fletcher police told News 13 in 2023 that officers handcuffed Hensley, who became unresponsive. Video taken by witnesses shows officers performing CPR on him. Hensley was transported to a local hospital, where he died.

After the State Bureau of Investigation finished its review of the case, it was sent to R. Andrew Murray, the district attorney for Prosecutorial District 42, which includes Henderson, Polk and Transylvania counties. Murray’s news release on Aug. 30, 2023, said no North Carolina laws were violated by law enforcement in the death of Hensley, although an autopsy in February 2023 ruled the cause of death as a homicide. The autopsy report said, “because physical restraint contributed to the death, the manner of death is best classified as homicide."

Henderson County Sheriff Lowell Griffin issued the following statement to News 13 on June 12 regarding the lawsuit:

“In today’s litigious society, it’s to be expected whenever unfortunate circumstances occur. The District Attorney found no criminal liability on the part of our officers, and we stand behind our officers’ actions. Because of pending litigation, we will have no further comment."

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